Audit trail
A record that lets you reconstruct who did what, and when.
An audit trail is a chronological record of activity in a system: transactions, changes, logins and administrative actions, with the user and time. It supports accountability, investigation and detective controls, but only if it is protected from tampering and someone actually reviews it.
On the exam
A log that nobody reviews is a weak control. Look for answers about protecting logs from change and reviewing them independently.
Related terms
- Audit evidenceThe information an auditor relies on to support a conclusion.
- Segregation of dutiesSplitting key steps of a process so no one person can both commit and hide an error or fraud.
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