Ensure Microsoft 365 audit log search is Enabled

MediumLevel 1Manual reviewm365

Description

When audit log search is enabled in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal, user and admin activity within the organization is recorded in the audit log and retained for 180 days by default. However, some organizations may prefer to use a third-party security information and event management (SIEM) application to access their auditing data. In this scenario, a global admin can choose to turn off audit log search in Microsoft 365. Enabling audit log search in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal can help organizations improve their security posture, meet regulatory compliance requirements, respond to security incidents, and gain valuable operational insights.

How it is checked

Audit method: Manual review

This recommendation cannot be checked automatically. A scan lists it with these instructions when you pass --include-manual.

To audit using the UI: 1. Navigate to Microsoft Purview https://purview.microsoft.com/ 2. Select Solutions and then Audit to open the audit search. 3. Choose a date and time frame in the past 30 days. 4. Verify search capabilities (e.g. try searching for Activities as Accessed file and results should be displayed). To audit using PowerShell: 1. Connect to Exchange Online using Connect-ExchangeOnline. 2. Run the following PowerShell command: Get-AdminAuditLogConfig | Select-Object UnifiedAuditLogIngestionEnabled 3. Ensure UnifiedAuditLogIngestionEnabled is set to True. Note: If the Get-AdminAuditLogConfig cmdlet is executed while connected to both Security & Compliance PowerShell as well as Exchange Online PowerShell then UnifiedAuditLogIngestionEnabled will always display False. This depends on the orders the module were imported. If Security & Compliance is needed in the same session be sure to connect to it first, and then Exchange PowerShell second.

How it is fixed

Fix method: Guidance or infrastructure patch

To remediate using the UI: 1. Navigate to Microsoft Purview https://purview.microsoft.com/ 2. Select Solutions and then Audit to open the audit search. 3. Click blue bar Start recording user and admin activity. 4. Click Yes on the dialog box to confirm. To remediate using PowerShell: 1. Connect to Exchange Online using Connect-ExchangeOnline. 2. Run the following PowerShell command: Set-AdminAuditLogConfig -UnifiedAuditLogIngestionEnabled $true

Properties

Operating systems: Any
Tags: loggingm365saas
Reference: CIS Microsoft 365 Foundations Benchmark v7.0.0 - 3.1.1 Ensure Microsoft 365 audit log search is Enabled