Audit logging vs Audit

Why they differ

Audit logging is a system's own record of actions; an audit is a person's independent review of whether controls work - which often reads those records.

Audit logging

Operating systems

A system's record of who did what, and when, for the actions that matter to security.

Formal

A kind of log in which the operating system or an application records security-relevant actions - logins, changes to permissions, opening protected files - each tied to the account that did it and protected against later change.

In plain English

Like the visitor book and key-card record at a secure building's front desk - not what happened in general, but exactly who went where and when.

In practice

After citizens' data leaks from a municipality, the audit log in the case system shows that a former employee's account, which should have been closed, opened the case at 22:14 the evening before.

Why it matters

It holds people accountable for their actions and gives investigators and auditors the evidence they need; standards such as ISO 27001 expect it.

Audit

Compliance & regulation

An independent check of whether an organisation actually follows its own policies and the requirements it has signed up to.

Formal

A planned, documented and impartial examination that gathers evidence - samples, records, interviews - to judge whether practice matches set criteria such as policies, contracts, laws or a standard, and reports each deviation as a finding.

In plain English

Like the regular car inspection - the owner may say the brakes are fine, but the inspector puts the car on the test bench and checks for real.

In practice

An internal auditor at a Danish region picks twenty staff who left last year and finds that four still have active accounts in the patient system; the report lists it as a finding with a deadline.

Why it matters

Written rules slowly drift away from what people actually do; without a regular, independent check, nobody notices until an incident or a customer exposes the gap.