Control: 2.4 Ensure CloudTrail trails are integrated with CloudWatch Logs

Description

AWS CloudTrail is a web service that records AWS API calls made in a given AWS account. The recorded information includes the identity of the API caller, the time of the API call, the source IP address of the API caller, the request parameters, and the response elements returned by the AWS service. CloudTrail uses Amazon S3 for log file storage and delivery, so log files are stored durably. In addition to capturing CloudTrail logs within a specified S3 bucket for long term analysis, realtime analysis can be performed by configuring CloudTrail to send logs to CloudWatch Logs. For a trail that is enabled in all regions in an account, CloudTrail sends log files from all those regions to a CloudWatch Logs log group. It is recommended that CloudTrail logs be sent to CloudWatch Logs.

Note: The intent of this recommendation is to ensure AWS account activity is being captured, monitored, and appropriately alarmed on. CloudWatch Logs is a native way to accomplish this using AWS services but does not preclude the use of an alternate solution.

Sending CloudTrail logs to CloudWatch Logs will facilitate real-time and historic activity logging based on user, API, resource, and IP address, and provides opportunity to establish alarms and notifications for anomalous or sensitivity account activity.

Remediation

Perform the following to establish the prescribed state:

Via the AWS management Console

1. Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the CloudTrail console at cloudtrail.
2. Under All Buckets, click on the target bucket you wish to evaluate.
3. Click Properties on the top right of the console.
4. Click Trails in the left menu.
5. Click on each trail where no CloudWatch Logs are defined.
6. Go to the CloudWatch Logs section and click on Configure.
7. Define a new or select an existing log group.
8. Click on Continue.
9. Configure IAM Role which will deliver CloudTrail events to CloudWatch Logs.

• Create/Select an IAM Role and Policy Name.
• Click Allow to continue.

Via CLI

aws cloudtrail update-trail --name <trail_name> --cloudwatch-logs-log-group- arn <cloudtrail_log_group_arn> --cloudwatch-logs-role-arn <cloudtrail_cloudwatchLogs_role_arn>