← AU-12
AU-12(1) AU · Audit and Accountability

System-wide and Time-correlated Audit Trail

LOW MODERATE ✓ HIGH
1 Overlay 2 Related Controls
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Requirements NIST SOURCE

Compile audit records from [system components] into a system-wide (logical or physical) audit trail that is time-correlated to within [level of tolerance].

Discussion (NIST Supplemental Guidance)

Audit trails are time-correlated if the time stamps in the individual audit records can be reliably related to the time stamps in other audit records to achieve a time ordering of the records within organizational tolerances.

Implementation Guidance

Engineering Interpretation

Original engineering commentary written for this explorer — not NIST source text and not authoritative guidance.

No engineering interpretation has been authored for AU-12(1) yet. This section is architected to receive it — see the Requirements and Assessment sections above for the authoritative NIST source content in the meantime.

Assessment

NIST SP 800-53A REV 5.2.0

Assessment Objectives

  1. system components from which audit records are to be compiled into a system-wide (logical or physical) audit trail are defined;
  2. level of tolerance for the relationship between timestamps of individual records in the audit trail is defined;
  3. audit records from <AU-12(01)_ODP[01] system components> are compiled into a system-wide (logical or physical) audit trail that is time-correlated to within <AU-12(01)_ODP[02] level of tolerance>.

Examine

[SELECT FROM: Audit and accountability policy; system security plan; privacy plan; procedures addressing audit record generation; system design documentation; system configuration settings and associated documentation; system-wide audit trail (logical or physical); system audit records; other relevant documents or records].

Interview

[SELECT FROM: Organizational personnel with audit record generation responsibilities; organizational personnel with information security and privacy responsibilities; system/network administrators; system developers].

Test

[SELECT FROM: Mechanisms implementing audit record generation capability].

Overlays

Showing the OT/ICS overlay for the parent control AU-12 — see the AU-12(1) entries within each baseline below.

OT/ICS Overlay SP 800-82r3

NIST SP 800-82r3 Appendix F, Table 22. Blank baseline means the control/control enhancement is not selected in that initial OT baseline.

LOW

  • Base control: Included (matches standard baseline)

MODERATE

  • Base control: Included (matches standard baseline)

HIGH

  • Base control: Included (matches standard baseline)
  • Included: (1) (3)

STIGs & CCIs

No STIG checks or CCI mappings are currently loaded for AU-12(1). This section is architected to display, per product: STIG ID, Finding ID, Severity, Title, Description, Check, Fix, CCI, and NIST control mapping — but nothing is populated here until a real DISA STIG/CCI dataset is ingested.

Learn more about STIG/CCI integration →

Evidence

Potential Evidence — Derived

Categorized from the SP 800-53A "Examine"/"Test" artifact list above by keyword — not an authoritative NIST evidence list.

Policy

  • Audit and accountability policy
  • system security plan
  • privacy plan

Configuration

  • system design documentation
  • system configuration settings and associated documentation

Logging

  • procedures addressing audit record generation

Testing

  • Mechanisms implementing audit record generation capability

Other Records

  • system-wide audit trail (logical or physical)
  • system audit records
  • other relevant documents or records