Configuring Windows Audit Policies for Security Logging

Windows audit policies control what security events are recorded in the Security event log. Proper audit logging is essential for investigating incidents, detecting attacks, and meeting compliance requirements. By default, Windows auditing is minimal — you need to configure it. Critical audit categories to enable: Account Logon (successful and failed logons — detects brute force attempts), Account Management (user/group creation and modification), Privilege Use (admin privilege escalation), Policy Change (audit policy changes), System (security state changes), Object Access (file and folder access — enable only for sensitive folders to avoid log flood). Configure via Group Policy: Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Advanced Audit Policy Configuration. Enable both success and failure for logon/logoff events. For domain environments, configure auditing on domain controllers to capture all authentication events. Forward logs to a central SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) system — logs stored only locally are vulnerable to deletion by attackers. Set log retention: minimum 90 days online, 1 year archived.