AWS With the help of a tool called Cloud Trail, offered by
Amazon Web Services (AWS), you can keep track of and document activities that
take place inside your AWS infrastructure. It gives you a thorough event
history of every activity users, services, and resources took while using your
AWS account. By recording and archiving event logs, Cloud Trail assists with
security, compliance, operational auditing, and troubleshooting.
When you create a cloud trail, it is already operational in
your AWS account and doesn’t need to be manually set up. A Cloud Trail event is
created each time something happens in your AWS account.
What is AWS CloudTrail?
AWS CloudTrail is a service that enables governance,
compliance, and operational and risk auditing of your AWS account. It
records and logs every API call made on your AWS account, capturing details
such as the identity of the API caller, the time of the API call, the source IP
address, the request parameters, and the response elements returned by the AWS
service. This comprehensive logging allows you to track changes and activities
across your AWS infrastructure helping with security analysis,
resource change tracking, troubleshooting, and meeting compliance requirements.
CloudTrail provides three ways to record events:
- Event
History: Your AWS account has Cloud Trail activated by default, and
you have immediate access to the Cloud Trail event history. A viewable,
searchable, printable, and immutable record of the last 90 days’ worth of
management events in an AWS Region is available in the Event history. The
AWS management Console, AWS CLI and AWS SDKs and APIs are all used to
perform the activities that these events record. The AWS Region where the
event occurred is documented in the Event history. The Event history can
be seen for free on Cloud Trail.
- Cloud
Trail Lake: A managed data lake called AWS Cloud Trail Lake is used
to record, store, access, and analyze user and API activity on AWS for
audit and security reasons. Existing events in row-based json format are
converted to Apache ORC format by Cloud Trail Lake. A columnar storage
format called ORC is designed for quick data retrieval. Event data stores,
which are immutable collections of events based on criteria you choose by
using sophisticated event selectors, aggregate events into immutable
collections. The event data can be kept in an event data storage for a
maximum of seven years (2557 days). Using AWS Organizations, you may
construct an event data store for a single AWS account or for a number of
AWS accounts. Any Cloud Trail logs that you currently have can be imported
into an existing or new event data store from your S3 Bucket With
Lake dashboards, you can also see the top Cloud Trail event trends. See
Creating event data storage and working with AWS Cloud Trail Lake for
further details.
- Trails: In
addition to delivering and storing events in an Amazon S3 bucket, Trails
can also deliver events to Cloud Watch Logo and the Amazon Event
Bridge. These occurrences can be entered into your security monitoring
programs. You may also search and examine your Cloud Trail logs using
custom third-party programs or programs like Amazon Athena.
Using AWS Organizations, you can build trails for a single
AWS account or for a number of AWS accounts. Your management events can be
analyzed for unusual behavior in API call volumes and error rates by logging
Insights events. See Creating a trail for your AWS account for further details.
AWS CloudTrail Architecture
AWS Account is created in the AWS environment in the diagram
above. When a new account is created, Cloud Trail is activated. An API call is
made in the Back End whenever we carry out any operation using an AWS account,
such as signing in, creating and deleting EC2 instances, creating S3
buckets, and uploading data into them. An API request is made on the backend
when the activity occurs.
The activities that we carry out with our AWS Account can be
carried out in a variety of ways. For instance, we can use the account with the
aid of the AWS CLI (AWS – Command-line Interface), and we can also carry out
the activity using the SDK (Software Development Kit) or AWS Management
Console. We may use any method here, and by using that method, whenever we
execute an activity from the account, the backend API is called. When the
backend API is called, an event is generated, and the event log is saved in the
Cloud Trail. Only when we carry out any activity using an AWS Account does an
event get created in Cloud Trail.
The AWS account activity we perform lasts for 90 days in the
same place. It is possible to keep event logs in an S3 bucket for longer than
90 days. SNS configuration is also possible in Cloud Trail.
Benefits of using AWS CloudTrail in AWS
- CloudTrail
log file: The log file integrity validation is a tool you may use
to help with IT security and auditing procedures.
- Security
and Compliance: Meeting security and compliance standards is made
easier with CloudTrail. It supports security incident investigation and
compliance audits by assisting enterprises in identifying illegal or
suspicious activity through the monitoring of AWS actions.
- Resource
Change Tracking: AWS resource changes over time can be tracked
with CloudTrail. This helps with resource management and troubleshooting
by helping to spot configuration changes, authorization changes, and
resource removals.
- Alerting
and Notifications: Businesses can configure alerts and
notifications for a variety of events that are logged in CloudTrail logs.
The prompt response to urgent situations is made possible by this
proactive monitoring.
- Cross-Account
and Multi-Region Support: Multi-account logging is supported by
CloudTrail, enabling businesses to centralize logging for numerous AWS
accounts. Additionally, it offers multi-region logging, which consolidates
logs from various AWS regions in one place for centralized analysis.
Enables your account’s governance, compliance, and auditing. Aids in
constant monitoring and security analysis simple to manage and access.
How does AWS CloudTrail Work?
Your Amazon Web Services (AWS) account’s activity is tracked
and recorded by the AWS CloudTrail service. It offers thorough logs of all API
calls and operations made on your AWS resources. This is how AWS CloudTrail
functions:
- Data
Collection: Activity in your AWS account is regularly monitored
by CloudTrail. An API call is created whenever an AWS service or resource
is used or updated.
- Log
Storage: You can define an Amazon S3 bucket where these log
entries will be gathered and stored. For your CloudTrail logs, you may set
the bucket’s location and retention time.
- Access
Control: Policies set forth by AWS IAM. govern who has
access to CloudTrail logs. Who is permitted to read, write, or administer
CloudTrail logs can be specified.
- Alerting
and Notifications: You can configure in-the-moment alerts based
on particular occurrences or trends in your CloudTrail logs using
CloudWatch Alarms. This enables you to react rapidly to operational or
security incidents.
- Log
Generation: Each time an API is called, CloudTrail creates a log
entry with information on the caller, the action taken, the resource used,
and the timestamp.
AWS CloudTrail features
- Comprehensive
Logging: Captures detailed logs of API calls and activities across AWS
services, providing visibility into actions taken by users, applications,
or AWS services.
- Audit
and Compliance: Facilitates compliance auditing by tracking changes to
resources and enabling forensic analysis of security incidents through
comprehensive logging.
- Integration
with AWS Services: Integrates seamlessly with other AWS services like
AWS lambda S3, CloudWatch Logs, and CloudWatch Events for advanced
monitoring and automated responses to events.
- Multi-Account
and Multi-Region Support: Supports logging and centralized management
across multiple AWS accounts and regions, providing a unified view of
activity across complex AWS environments.
- Event
History and Insights: Provides event history timelines and insights
into API activity trends, enabling operational troubleshooting, security
analysis, and operational intelligence.
Steps to set up AWS CloudTrail
Step 1: Login to AWS Console
- Visit
AWS Academy and login to your account.
Step 2: Access AWS Academy Learner Lab
- Navigate
to AWS Academy Learner Lab [52156] -> Modules.
Step 3: Launch AWS Academy Learner Lab
- Start
the lab session and proceed to AWSgreen dot.
- Then
click on AWSgreen dot.
Step 4: Open CloudTrail Service
- Click
on Services and search for “CloudTrail”.
Step 5: Create CloudTrail
- Select “Create CloudTrail”, name it as “MyTrail”.
Step 6: Edit Storage Location
- Click
on the created “MyTrail” and edit the storage location. Choose “Create new
S3 bucket” and save changes.
Step 7: Save Changes
- Confirm
and save changes to finalize the S3 bucket configuration.
Step 8: Confirm Settings
- Ensure
data events are configured to deliver to the AWS CloudTrail console,
Amazon S3 buckets, and optionally Amazon CloudWatch Logs.
Step 9: Monitor Data Events
- Data events are automatically stored in the designated S3 bucket.
Step 10: Access and Review Event Data
- Navigate
to the S3 bucket, locate the first file, download it, and review the JSON
formatted data events.
Accessing CloudTrail
Accessing AWS CloudTrail Using These Methods:
- AWS
Management Console: Access via web browser, navigate to CloudTrail
service, configure trails, view logs, and perform basic analysis.
- AWS
CLI: Use commands like aws cloudtrail create-trail, aws
cloudtrail describe-trails, and aws cloudtrail lookup-events to
manage trails, retrieve event history, and perform automated tasks.
- AWS
SDKs: Integrate CloudTrail into your applications using SDK functions
to programmatically manage trails, retrieve and process event data, and
incorporate CloudTrail insights into application logic.
- AWS
CloudTrail API: Develop custom applications or scripts that interact
directly with CloudTrail API endpoints to automate tasks, perform complex
queries, and integrate CloudTrail data into external systems or reporting
tools.
AWS CloudTrail Use cases
- Security
and Compliance Monitoring: Monitor API calls and actions across AWS
services to detect unauthorized access, changes to resources, and
potential security breaches. CloudTrail logs provide detailed visibility
for compliance audits and regulatory requirements.
- Operational
Troubleshooting: Investigate operational issues by reviewing CloudTrail
logs to understand the sequence of events leading to errors or unexpected
behavior in your AWS environment. Helps in identifying root causes and
improving system reliability.
- Change
Management and Auditing: Track changes made to AWS resources over time,
including configuration changes, deployments, and updates. CloudTrail logs
enable auditing of resource history, aiding in change management and
maintaining configuration integrity.
- Incident
Response and Forensics: Use CloudTrail logs during incident response to
reconstruct events, analyze the scope of an incident, and identify
impacted resources. Facilitates forensic investigation and timely
resolution of security or operational incidents.
- Governance
and Accountability: Establish accountability by logging actions performed
by users, applications, or AWS services. CloudTrail provides a trail of
actions taken, helping organizations enforce governance policies and
maintain accountability across AWS accounts.
AWS CloudTrail – FAQs
What is AWS CloudTrail vs CloudWatch?
AWS CloudTrail captures and logs API activity, providing
detailed records of actions taken by users, applications, or AWS services. AWS
CloudWatch monitors AWS resources and applications in real-time, collecting and
displaying metrics, logs and alarms to monitor performance and operational
health.
Is CloudTrail a monitoring tool?
CloudTrail is primarily an auditing and logging service
rather than a real-time monitoring tool. It records AWS API activity for audit
and compliance purposes, providing visibility into actions taken within AWS
environments.
Which tasks can you perform using AWS CloudTrail?
- Monitor
and log AWS API calls and actions across services for security auditing,
compliance, and troubleshooting.
- Track
changes to AWS resources, analyze operational issues, and facilitate
incident response and forensic investigations.
How does AWS CloudTrail capture and store AWS API activity?
CloudTrail captures API activity by monitoring and
logging events triggered by AWS services and resources. It stores these logs in
an Amazon S3 bucket, which can be further analyzed using tools like AWS
CloudWatch Logs or other logging and analytics services.
What are some common security analysis use cases for
CloudTrail Logs?
You can use CloudTrail logs to detect and investigate
security incidents, unauthorized access, and suspicious behavior by analyzing
the recorded API activity and correlating it with other security data.
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