Monitoring: Export Traffic and Audit logs to external SIEM solution
Implementation Effort: Medium
User Impact: Medium
Overview
Integrating Microsoft Entra Global Secure Access with external Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems is a foundational step in advancing an organization’s Zero Trust maturity. By exporting both audit and traffic logs, organizations enable centralized monitoring, real-time detection, and advanced analytics that are essential for identifying threats, investigating incidents, and ensuring compliance.
Audit logs provide a detailed record of administrative actions, policy changes, and access attempts. When these are exported to a SIEM, organizations gain the ability to retain logs beyond built-in retention limits, correlate events across diverse environments, and automate responses to suspicious activities. Similarly, traffic logs offer deep visibility into network flows and access patterns, which supports operational monitoring and proactive threat hunting.
This approach aligns directly with Zero Trust guidance from both the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). NIST’s Zero Trust Architecture principles emphasize the necessity of continuous monitoring, detailed logging, and robust incident response as core components of a mature Zero Trust environment NIST Zero Trust Networks. CISA’s Zero Trust Maturity Model also highlights centralized log management and automated analytics as critical capabilities for achieving higher levels of Zero Trust maturity CISA ZTMM v2.
By exporting logs to a SIEM, organizations not only enhance their operational and security posture but also move closer to meeting the continuous verification, least privilege, and rapid response requirements set forth by these industry standards.