5.3 Ensure 'Login Auditing' is set to Both 'failed' and 'successful logins'

Information

Setting logs both successful and failed login SQL Server authentication attempts.

Rationale:

Logging successful and failed logins provides key information that can be used to detect/confirm password guessing attacks. Further, logging successful login attempts can be used to confirm server access during forensic investigations.

Solution

Perform the following steps to set the level of auditing:

Open SQL Server Management Studio.

Right click the target instance and select Properties and navigate to the Security tab.

Select the option Both failed and successful logins under the Login Auditing section and click OK.

Restart the SQL Server instance.

Default Value:

By default, only failed login attempts are captured.

References:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms188470(v=sql.105).aspx

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms188470(v=sql.100).aspx

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/files/2834