Keep Track of Help Desk Changes using Audit Logs

Last Updated: April 6, 2021

As a system admin, knowing the precise sequence of activities that resulted in a specific action, process, or event within a software tool is important. This is where an “Audit Log” comes in handy. Audit Logs usually comprise of “Audit Trails” that contain chronologically sorted catalog events that are recorded for every single activity done. 

Companies mostly need these audit logs to comply with industry requirements or government regulations. Moreover, a comprehensive audit log of activities can also help companies understand the state of their business at any point in time. Maintaining audit logs also makes the system more secure. As every digital footprint is recorded, audit logs can provide that crucial evidence if a user engages in any unauthorized activity or there has been an external breach.

Benefits of having an audit trail system in a help desk environment

Changes made within HappyFox should be easily trackable so that help desk admins are made aware of the changes happening in the help desk. Having a long list of agent activity log helps companies remain prepared and also helps when dealing with unexpected situations, like misuse of information.

1. Be Compliant with Compliances or Standards

Since most organizations today comply under several regulatory measures either in the U.S. or internationally, those entities, especially those that maintain electronic records, must maintain a secure and accurate audit log and trail system. Audit Logs acts as a reassuring entity for the IT team to provide vital information during internal or external audits.

2. Agent Accountability

Since every action of an agent is captured via the audit log, it promotes fair usage of help desk functionality, preventing improper use or unauthorized modifications. In a help desk environment, this is crucial as any adverse modification can lead to bad customer experiences and can potentially cause the downfall of an organization. Besides, every agent is also made aware that their actions are automatically recorded and tied to their unique identity.

3. Reconstruct Past Incidents and Assess Damage

Audit trails can be used to reconstruct events long after an incident has occurred. Visibility into past incidents can help to prevent the reoccurrence of such incidents in the future. Moreover, Damages can be easily assessed by looking into the audit trail activity at the time of the incident. This will help in detective work and will help uncover why normal activity ceased during the incident and pinpoint who or what caused that incident.

In addition to the above benefits, audit logs can be used at large for real-time monitoring: help desk admins can use audit logs for general operational checks, detecting unusual activities or logins, or new process implementation issues.

Audit Logs in HappyFox – Explained

Audit Logs is available exclusively to help desk administrators in HappyFox. To access this module, head over to Manage >> Audit Logs. 

The audit logs module captures events and activity changes across different modules of the help desk such as Billing, Automation, Account Settings, Channels, Categories, etc.

The Audit Log feature in HappyFox helps you know about

  • What the change was?
  • Which module was the change made in?
  • Who made this change?
  • When it was made?
  • Where it was made (IP address)?

In HappyFox, audit logs are maintained for the life of the records, indefinitely. This can be extremely useful in historical reporting and solving problems in the future.

For a more detailed description of what changes Audit Log records and to know what you can do with it, click here.

You will also be able to export Audit Logs to your preferred spreadsheet format for further data analysis via business intelligence tools like HappyFox BI.

Conclusion

HappyFox provides you with all the audit log functionality necessary to maintain a robust and secure help desk system. It is important to Keep IT and leadership across appropriate business departments informed on all audit activity. Help desk admins should also review audit logs regularly to mitigate risk.

Looking for a help desk with an advanced audit log functionality? Sign up for a one-on-one demo of HappyFox today!

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