Firewall Logs: Turning Data into Security Insight
Firewall logs reveal attacks, misconfigurations and policy gaps. Here is how to use them.
Firewalls generate large volumes of logs: allowed and blocked connections, threats detected, VPN logins and configuration changes. Most businesses never look at them. Used well, logs provide valuable security insight.
What logs reveal
- Blocked attack attempts and their sources
- Malware communication from internal devices
- Unusual traffic volumes or destinations
- Failed VPN logins suggesting brute-force attempts
- Configuration changes and who made them
Centralise logs
Send logs to a central platform or SIEM, where they can be searched, correlated and retained beyond the firewall's limited storage.
Set meaningful alerts
Alert on high-severity threats, repeated failed logins, traffic to known malicious destinations and configuration changes. Avoid alert fatigue by tuning thresholds.
Regular reviews
Weekly or monthly reviews help identify trends, such as increasing attacks on a particular service.
Investigate incidents
During incidents, logs help reconstruct what happened, which systems were involved and when.
Compliance
Many standards require log retention and review. Define retention periods and protect logs from tampering.
Reports for management
Summarised reports translate log data into understandable security trends for leadership.
Privacy
Restrict access to logs and use them for security purposes.
Managed monitoring
If your team lacks time to review logs, managed services can monitor and alert on your behalf.
The bottom line
Firewall logs are a rich source of security insight. Centralise, review and act on them.
Learn more about Cloud Firewall from UbiFi, or talk to our team.
Next-generation firewall delivered from the cloud — intrusion prevention, application control and secure remote access for every site.
