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 transactions,

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...

and health care data transactions, or

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

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 A table is a collection of related data held in a table format within a database. It consists of columns and rows. In relational databases, and flat file databases, a ''table'' is a set of data elements (values) using a model of vertical colum ...

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, although — in contexts such as physics, chemistry or engineering — the transfer of energy (''e.g.'' as work or heat) is allowed. In ...

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

Industry uses

telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

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

data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted ...

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 calle ...

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

information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random ...

or communications security,

information audit Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random, a ...

means a chronological record of

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

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 any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

. 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. Jaime Campbell; Alex Peterson, Intuit QuickBooks Enterprise Edition 12.0 Cookbook for Experts, 2012 Audit logs can likewise be valuable for performing

forensic investigation Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and crimina ...

, supporting the associations inside examinations, setting up baselines, and distinguishing operational patterns and long run issues. In

nursing research Nursing research is research that provides evidence used to support nursing practices. Nursing, as an evidence-based area of practice, has been developing since the time of Florence Nightingale to the present day, where many nurses now work as rese ...

, it refers to the act of maintaining a running log or

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

of decisions relating to a research project, thus making clear the steps taken and changes made to the original

protocol Protocol may refer to: Sociology and politics * Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states * Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state * Etiquette, a code of personal behavior Science and technolog ...

. In

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

, it refers to documentation of detailed transactions supporting summary

ledger A ledger is a book or collection of accounts in which account transactions are recorded. Each account has an opening or carry-forward balance, and would record each transaction as either a debit or credit in separate columns, and the ending or ...

entries. This documentation may be on paper or on electronic records. In

online proofing Online proofing is the process undertaken by web designers, photographers, marketing agencies and video production companies, among others, to automate the review and approval of work online. Traditionally a process used by photographers, as more ...

, it pertains to the

version history Software versioning is the process of assigning either unique ''version names'' or unique ''version numbers'' to unique states of computer software. Within a given version number category (e.g., major or minor), these numbers are generally assig ...

of a piece of artwork, design, photograph, video, or web design proof in a project. In

clinical research Clinical research is a branch of healthcare science that determines the safety and effectiveness ( efficacy) of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use. These may be used for prevention, treatm ...

, server based systems such as clinical trial management systems (CTMS) require audit trails. Anything regulatory or

QA/QC QA/QC is the combination of quality assurance, the process or set of processes used to measure and assure the quality of a product, and quality control, the process of ensuring products and services meet consumer expectations. "Quality assurance ...

related also requires audit trails. In

pharmaceutical manufacturing Pharmaceutical manufacturing is the process of industrial-scale synthesis of pharmaceutical drugs as part of the pharmaceutical industry. The process of drug manufacturing can be broken down into a series of unit operations, such as milling, g ...

, it is a

Good Manufacturing Practice Current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) are those conforming to the guidelines recommended by relevant agencies. Those agencies control the authorization and licensing of the manufacture and sale of food and beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceut ...

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 a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holde ...

, a

voter-verified paper audit trail Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) or verified paper record (VPR) is a method of providing feedback to voters using a ballotless voting system. A VVPAT is intended as an independent verification system for voting machines designed to allow ...

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 secret voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16t ...

less voting system.

References

{{Authority control

Trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...