Privileged user auditing is the process of monitoring, recording, and reviewing the actions of users with elevated access rights, such as system administrators, engineers, or third-party vendors, who can modify critical systems, data, or security settings. This auditing practice captures detailed activity logs to ensure accountability, detect misuse, and meet regulatory requirements for high-risk access.
Privileged accounts represent some of the highest-risk assets in any environment. They provide deep access to sensitive systems and have the potential to cause significant harm, either unintentionally or maliciously. Regulatory frameworks such as NERC CIP, IEC 62443, TSA SD02E, NIS2, and NIST 800-53 mandate rigorous auditing of privileged user activity to reduce risk and establish a chain of accountability.
Privileged user auditing helps organizations:
Xona enforces and logs all privileged access through its secure, protocol-isolated gateway, capturing both metadata and optional full session recordings of administrative or high-risk user activity. Every session is tagged with user identity, role, target system, access duration, and activity markers, allowing security teams to quickly review, investigate, and report on privileged actions.
Access is governed by role-based policies, time-bound controls, and credential injection, ensuring that privileged users never see or reuse sensitive credentials. This reduces the risk of shared accounts, credential leakage, or unauthorized privilege escalation
With Xona, organizations gain the visibility and forensic evidence needed to satisfy privileged user auditing requirements across a wide range of compliance frameworks, while maintaining operational efficiency in sensitive, high-risk environments.