Log Retention and Protection Policies

This question asks for your rulebook on handling audit logs - how long you keep them, how you protect them from tampering or deletion, and whether customers can access their own logs (and if so, how). It's like asking about your video surveillance system's recording capacity, how you prevent someone from erasing the tapes, and whether building tenants can review footage of their own areas.

Log retention policies directly impact compliance and incident response capabilities. Too short, and you can't investigate incidents or prove compliance; too long, and you increase privacy risks and storage costs. Many regulations require specific retention periods (90 days minimum for PCI-DSS, years for some healthcare requirements). Improper log protection can invalidate their use as legal evidence. Customer access to logs is increasingly expected for transparency and can be a competitive advantage in security-conscious markets.

Many companies have informal retention practices but no documented policy, failing audits immediately. Another mistake is retaining logs without protecting them from modification, making them useless for forensics. Teams often promise customer access to logs without building proper interfaces, leading to manual, unscalable processes that frustrate enterprise clients.