Auditing

StoneGate reduces time needed for internal and external audits, because it provides necessary information quickly and in understandable format. StoneGate collects extensive information about changes in the system and stores the information in audit logs, including element history data and configuration snapshots. This method provides various ways to track and generate reports on configuration changes and administrator activities.

Graphical change management

A policy snapshot is a configuration dump from the time when a configuration is applied to the security engines. With the graphical snapshot comparison tool, the administrator can compare one snapshot to other snapshots from different times, and see and review any changes. This is a great tool for internal and external auditors when collecting information that proves regulatory compliance.

History data

Element history data contains information on creation and last edition of an element or a rule. This makes it easy to find changes done by the administrators during a given time period.

Audit logs

Audit logs contain information about system-generated events and actions performed on the system.

By examining the audit logs it is possible to trace, for example, what kinds of administrator actions have been performed and by whom. This data may prove to be important when trying to figure out possible configuration errors or problems with regulatory compliance.

The audit logs can be examined in Log Browser. The administrator can specify exactly the types of actions and the time frame, which allows for tracking accurately all kinds of system events or administrator actions and helps in maintaining the system’s integrity.

The audited events include:

Actions concerning element configuration (creating, editing, deleting, importing, or exporting)
Actions performed on the firewall and IPS engines (policy upload, control commands, and so on)
Use of command line tools (for example, when backing up and restoring)
Actions related to certificates
Actions related to administrator login authentication