Event Log Archiving for JSIG and CMMC Compliance

Hello this is Mike from Corner Bowl Software. In this tutorial I am going to show you how to save your Windows Event Logs for 5 years on a single air gapped machine, a common requirement for JSIG and CMMC compliance.

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Video Tutorial

What is Event Log Archiving?

Event Log Archiving is the process of backing up and clearing Windows Event Logs then moving archived Event Log files to a central location or FIPS compliant storage device for future auditing and review.

So why would you want to save your Windows Event Logs for 5 years?The main purpose is for compliance, otherwise our log consolidation to SQL Server or MySQL is going to be far superior for deep analysis and reporting purposes. If your organization is not required to archive the native Event Log files, please see our Event Log Consolidation Tutorial Series.

How Does it Work?

To save Event Log files on a single air gapped machine, Corner Bowl executes built-in Windows functions to archive, clear and move backed up Event Logs, specifically Local WMI.

How To Configure Event Log Archiving

• From the root Templates Node, expand Sample Templates / NIST/JSIG / Windows / Agentless.
• Once expanded, you will see 2 Event Log Backup Templates. The first, AU-2/11: Event Log File Backup (Air Gapped Single Machine) includes a post backup Action that not only Archives the Event Log File locally but also saves the Event Log File to removable media. The other template, AU-2/11: Event Log File Backup (Application, Security, System) is identical, however, does not include the Action to save the Event Log File to removable media. For this tutorial, I am going to select the Template that does not include the extra post backup Action.

Event Log Archive Template for JSIG and CMMC Compliance

• Right click on template then select Template Properties.
• Use the General Tab to set a schedule, for example, Every Monday at 02:00.

Event Log Archive Template Schedule

• Use the Logs Tab to select the target Event Logs and Microsoft Application Logs. By default, the Application, System and Security Event Log have been selected for you.

Select Event Logs

• Use the Options Tab, to specify the target location to save the files. The default is:
  C:\ProgramData\Corner Bowl\Server Manager\EvtBackups\{YEAR}\{HOST}\{LOG}_{DATE}{TIME}
  This setting saves the backups to a separate folder for each year and host and is the default for this Template type.
• Use the Compress option to zip the EVTX files. Optionally, choose to encrypt the files and password project them using FIPS compliant AES-256 encryption. If selected, Zip7 format is utilized, so you will need to download either Zip7 or another compatibility program to decompress the files outside of Corner Bowl.
• Optionally, you can digitally sign the files with a code signing certificate. If you choose to sign the files, you must use Corner Bowl to remove the signature before the files can be viewed.
• Use the Delete files in the destination directory option to remove the archives once they are older than 5 years.
• Next, notice the Clear flag is set by default as well as the Auto-archive option. Compliance requirements, such as JSIG and CMMC, require Windows is configured to auto-archive. Once set on Windows, log files that reach their maximum size are automatically backed up to Windows Event Logs directory which is:
  C:\Windows\System32\winevt\Logs
  We want to avoid this scenario, otherwise we have to separately pull those log files. To avoid this scenario, the Auto-Archive option has been added which checks the Event Log file size once a minute. Once the threshold, in this case 80%, is reached, Corner Bowl automatically executes the optionally assigned Event Log Consolidation Templates so all the entries can be saved into the Log Consolidation Database for compliance Reporting, then the log file is archived and cleared avoiding the scenario where files are dumped into the operating system directory.

Event Log Archive Template Options

• Moving on, the Agent Tab is cleared because we are running this template on a single air gapped machine.

Agent Template Options

• Then finally, per section AU-5 in the JSIG specification, the Actions Tab includes a Desktop Notification action which displays a popup anytime there is a problem with the backup process. In the case of failure, you also have the option to view the built-in Errors Report found under the root Status Node.

Event Log Archive Template Actions for JSIG and CMMC Compliance

• Next, use the Assignments View to assign this Template to the localhost.

Assign Hosts to Template

• Once assigned, find the Template under the localhosts’ Templates Node. Right click then select Execute Verbose. Selecting the Verbose Tab reveals the Event Log Consolidation Template is first executed followed by the backup process.

Event Log Archive Execution
• Opening Windows Explorer reveals the backed up files. Copy or move these files to a FIPS compliant external storage device on a weekly basis.

Event Log Archive

Related Topics

Event Log Consolidation Template