What are the best practices for cloud-native audit logging?

Best practices for cloud-native audit logging include:

1. Centralized Logging: Aggregate logs from all services, containers, and infrastructure components into a centralized system for unified analysis. This ensures consistency and easier troubleshooting.
   Example: Use a log management service like Tencent Cloud CLS (Cloud Log Service) to collect logs from Kubernetes clusters, microservices, and serverless functions in one place.

2. Immutable Logs: Ensure logs cannot be altered or deleted to maintain integrity for compliance and security investigations.
   Example: Store logs in Tencent Cloud COS (Cloud Object Storage) with versioning and access controls to prevent tampering.

3. Structured Logging: Use standardized, machine-readable formats (e.g., JSON) for logs to simplify parsing and analysis.
   Example: Applications should output logs with consistent fields like timestamp, user_id, action, and status_code.

4. Real-Time Monitoring & Alerts: Set up alerts for suspicious activities (e.g., unauthorized access attempts) using log data.
   Example: Configure Tencent Cloud CLS with Cloud Monitor to trigger alerts when failed login attempts exceed a threshold.

5. Compliance Alignment: Ensure logging meets regulatory requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2) by retaining logs for the required duration.
   Example: Retain audit logs in Tencent Cloud CLS or COS for 1-7 years based on compliance needs.

6. Fine-Grained Access Control: Restrict log access to authorized personnel only to prevent data leaks.
   Example: Use Tencent Cloud CAM (Cloud Access Management) to assign least-privilege permissions for log viewers.

7. Correlation with Metadata: Include contextual metadata (e.g., request ID, IP address, service name) to trace issues across services.
   Example: In a microservice architecture, propagate a request_id across services and include it in logs for end-to-end tracing.

8. Serverless & Container Logging: For serverless (e.g., SCF) or containerized workloads (e.g., TKE), ensure logs are automatically captured.
   Example: Tencent Cloud SCF (Serverless Cloud Function) and TKE (Tencent Kubernetes Engine) integrate seamlessly with CLS for automatic log collection.

9. Regular Log Audits: Periodically review logs to detect anomalies or policy violations.
   Example: Use Tencent Cloud CLS query filters to analyze access patterns or failed API calls.

10. Disaster Recovery: Ensure logs are backed up and recoverable in case of data loss.
    Example: Store critical logs in Tencent Cloud COS with cross-region replication for redundancy.

By following these practices, organizations can enhance security, meet compliance, and improve operational visibility in cloud-native environments. Tencent Cloud services like CLS, COS, CAM, SCF, and TKE provide robust tools to implement these best practices efficiently.