8 Essential SAP Audit Event Types to Know

SAP audit events provide organizations with valuable insights into system usage and security events. They allow auditors to investigate user activities, detect potential risks, and ensure compliance with internal policies and external regulations.

Types of SAP Audit Event Types

SAP offers a comprehensive range of audit event types, each representing a specific action or activity within the system. Here are eight essential types:

1. Security-Relevant Events (SM20): Track events related to user authentication, authorization changes, and password management.
2. Object-Related Events (SM18): Monitor activities related to changes in master data, such as customer or vendor records.
3. Application-Specific Events (SM37): Log events specific to individual SAP modules, such as changes to financial or logistics data.
4. Database-Relevant Events (DBACOCKPIT): Capture events related to database operations, including schema modifications and data access.
5. Repository Events (SARA): Track changes to the SAP system configuration, including user profiles and authorization objects.
6. Licensing-Related Events (SWNC): Monitor events related to SAP licensing compliance.
7. RFC Events (SM59): Log remote function calls (RFCs) between SAP systems or with external applications.
8. Business Process Events (SWIA): Track the execution of key business processes, providing insights into process efficiency and compliance.

Why SAP Audit Event Types Matter

• Security Monitoring: Identify security breaches, unauthorized access, and suspicious activities.
• Compliance Audits: Ensure adherence to internal policies and external regulations, such as SOX and GDPR.
• Risk Management: Detect potential risks and vulnerabilities, allowing for proactive mitigation measures.
• Process Optimization: Analyze business process performance and identify areas for improvement.
• Forensic Investigations: Provide evidence for internal or external investigations into system misuse or fraud.

Benefits of Utilizing SAP Audit Event Types

• Improved Security: Enhanced protection against cyber threats and data breaches.
• Reduced Risk: Early detection and mitigation of potential risks, minimizing financial and reputational damage.
• Compliance Assurance: Demonstrated compliance with industry regulations and internal policies.
• Optimized Operations: Improved efficiency and productivity through process analysis and optimization.
• Increased Transparency: Enhanced visibility into system usage, user activities, and business processes.

Effective Strategies for SAP Audit Event Monitoring

1. Define Clear Audit Objectives: Determine the specific security, compliance, or operational goals for audit event monitoring.
2. Enable Audit Trails: Ensure that all necessary audit event types are activated and logged.
3. Establish Audit Thresholds: Set thresholds to trigger alerts for unusual or suspicious activities.
4. Regularly Review and Analyze: Conduct periodic audit reviews to identify trends, detect anomalies, and take appropriate action.
5. Integrate with SIEM Tools: Connect SAP audit event data with security information and event management (SIEM) tools for centralized monitoring and analysis.

How to Step-by-Step to Configure SAP Audit Event Monitoring

1. Activate Audit Trail: Use transaction SM19 to activate the desired audit event types.
2. Define Audit Thresholds: Use transaction SM21 to set thresholds for specific event types.
3. Create Audit Logs: Use transaction SM20 to create audit logs and define retention periods.
4. Schedule Audit Reports: Use transaction SA38 to schedule regular audit reports to be generated and sent to designated recipients.
5. Implement Custom Reporting: Create custom reports using transaction SE38 to extract and analyze specific audit event data.

Conclusion

SAP audit event types provide organizations with invaluable data to enhance security, ensure compliance, mitigate risks, and optimize processes. By implementing effective audit event monitoring strategies, businesses can gain greater visibility into their SAP systems, protect their assets, and drive continuous improvement.