An audit trail (also called audit log) is a security-relevant chronological record, set of records, and/or destination and source of records that provide documentary evidence of the sequence of activities that have affected at any time a specific operation, procedure, event, or device. Audit records typically result from activities such as

financial transaction A financial transaction is an Contract, agreement, or communication, between a buyer and seller to exchange goods, Service (economics), services, or assets for payment. Any transaction involves a change in the status of the finances of two or mo ...

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and medieval world. The ...

and health care data transactions, or

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

s by individual people, systems, accounts, or other entities. The process that creates an audit trail is typically required to always run in a privileged mode, so it can access and supervise all actions from all users; a normal user should not be allowed to stop/change it. Furthermore, for the same reason, the trail file or database table with a trail should not be accessible to normal users. Another way of handling this issue is through the use of a role-based security model in the software. The software can operate with the closed-looped controls, or as a '

closed system A closed system is a natural physical system that does not allow transfer of matter in or out of the system, althoughin the contexts of physics, chemistry, engineering, etc.the transfer of energy (e.g. as work or heat) is allowed. Physics In cl ...

', as required by many companies when using audit trail functionality.

Industry uses

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

, the term means a record of both completed and attempted accesses and service, or

data Data ( , ) are a collection of discrete or continuous values that convey information, describing the quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted for ...

forming a logical path linking a

sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is cal ...

of events, used to trace the transactions that have affected the contents of a record. In

information Information is an Abstraction, abstract concept that refers to something which has the power Communication, to inform. At the most fundamental level, it pertains to the Interpretation (philosophy), interpretation (perhaps Interpretation (log ...

communications security Communications security is the discipline of preventing unauthorized interceptors from accessing telecommunications in an intelligible form, while still delivering content to the intended recipients. In the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ...

, information audit means a chronological record of

system A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its open system (systems theory), environment, is described by its boundaries, str ...

activities to enable the reconstruction and examination of the sequence of events and/or changes in an event. Information put away or transmitted in paired structure that might be depended upon in

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

. An audit trail is a progression of records of computer data about a working framework, an application, or client exercises. Computer frameworks may have a few audit trails each gave to a specific sort of action. Related to proper apparatuses and systems, audit trails can help with distinguishing security infringement, execution issues and application issues. Routine log audits and investigation are valuable for distinguishing security episodes, approach infringement, fake movement, and operational issues soon after they have happened, and for giving information valuable to settling such issues. Audit logs can likewise be valuable for performing forensic investigation, supporting the associations inside examinations, setting up baselines, and distinguishing operational patterns and long run issues. In nursing research, it refers to the act of maintaining a running log or journal of decisions relating to a research project, thus making clear the steps taken and changes made to the original protocol. In

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

, it refers to

documentation Documentation is any communicable material that is used to describe, explain or instruct regarding some attributes of an object, system or procedure, such as its parts, assembly, installation, maintenance, and use. As a form of knowledge managem ...

of detailed transactions supporting summary

ledger A ledger is a book or collection of accounts in which accounting transactions are recorded. Each account has: * an opening or brought-forward balance; *a list of transactions, each recorded as either a debit or credit in separate columns (usu ...

entries. This documentation may be on paper or on electronic records. In finance, it refers to an order (any firm indication of a willingness to buy or sell a security) tracking system, or consolidated audit trail, with respect to the trading of securities, that would capture order event information for orders in securities from the time of the receipt of an order, and further documenting the life of the order through the process of routing, modification, cancellation, and execution (in whole or in part) of the order. In online proofing, it pertains to the version history of a piece of artwork, design, photograph, video, or web design proof in a project. In

clinical research Clinical research is a branch of medical research that involves people and aims to determine the effectiveness (efficacy) and safety of medications, devices, diagnostic products, and treatment regimens intended for improving human health. The ...

, server based systems such as clinical trial management systems (CTMS) require audit trails. Anything regulatory or QA/QC related also requires audit trails. In pharmaceutical manufacturing, it is a Good Manufacturing Practice regulatory requirement software generate audit trails, but not all software have audit trail functionality built-in. The first 'generic' audit trail generating software came out late 2021. The software is called Audit Trail Control, capable of fulfilling regulatory requirements for any software used in pharmaceutical manufacturing. In

voting Voting is the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representative ...

, a voter-verified paper audit trail is a method of providing feedback to voters using a

ballot A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th cent ...

less voting system.

References

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Trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...