Guide to Using AWS CloudTrail for Procurement Activity Monitoring in AWS Marketplace

/ Tutorial

Introduction

AWS Marketplace is a platform that allows customers to discover, purchase, and deploy software and services from a wide range of third-party vendors. With the recent addition of AWS CloudTrail support, customers now have the ability to monitor all procurement activity occurring in their AWS Account. This guide will walk you through the process of setting up and utilizing AWS CloudTrail for procurement activity monitoring in AWS Marketplace.

Table of Contents

  1. What is AWS CloudTrail?
  2. Benefits of AWS CloudTrail in AWS Marketplace
  3. Setting Up AWS CloudTrail
    1. Enabling AWS CloudTrail
    2. Configuring CloudTrail Trails
  4. Monitoring Procurement Activity
    1. Accessing CloudTrail Event Logs
    2. Interpreting CloudTrail Event Logs
  5. Advanced Features and Best Practices for Procurement Activity Monitoring
    1. Integrating with AWS CloudWatch
    2. Creating Custom CloudTrail Event Filters
    3. Using AWS Config for Continuous Monitoring
    4. Setting Up Alerts and Notifications
  6. Conclusion
  7. Additional Resources

1. What is AWS CloudTrail?

AWS CloudTrail is a service that provides governance, compliance, and operational auditing of your AWS Account. It records API calls and related events made within your account and delivers detailed event logs to an Amazon S3 bucket or AWS CloudWatch Logs. This enables you to monitor activity, investigate and troubleshoot issues, and maintain a record of all events occurring in your AWS Account.

2. Benefits of AWS CloudTrail in AWS Marketplace

By enabling AWS CloudTrail in AWS Marketplace, customers can gain valuable insights into their procurement activity. The following are some key benefits of using AWS CloudTrail for procurement activity monitoring:

  • Visibility into Procurement Activity: With CloudTrail, you can monitor all procurement-related actions across any Offer Type (Public, Private, or Channel Partner), as well as all Pricing Types. This allows you to keep track of all purchases and subscriptions made through AWS Marketplace.

  • Granular Event Details: CloudTrail provides detailed event logs containing information such as the IAM User/Role that executed the action, the action that occurred, the timestamp of the action, and how the account’s resources were affected. This level of detail helps in understanding the impact of procurement activities on your AWS Account.

  • Compliance and Audit Tracking: CloudTrail logs can be used for compliance and audit purposes. With an extensive record of procurements, it becomes easier to demonstrate compliance with industry regulations and internal policies.

  • Troubleshooting and Root Cause Analysis: In case of any issues or unintended consequences resulting from procurement activities, CloudTrail logs can help in troubleshooting and identifying the root cause of the problem.

3. Setting Up AWS CloudTrail

To start monitoring your procurement activity in AWS Marketplace, you need to set up and configure AWS CloudTrail. Below are the steps to get started:

3.1 Enabling AWS CloudTrail

  1. Log in to the AWS Management Console.
  2. Open the CloudTrail console.
  3. Click on the “Trails” tab.
  4. Click on the “Create trail” button.
  5. Provide a descriptive name for your trail.
  6. Choose whether you want to apply your trail to all regions or specific regions only.
  7. Configure the settings for your trail, such as the S3 bucket for storing logs, log file encryption, and log file validation.
  8. Enable the “Include management events” option to capture AWS Marketplace procurement activity.
  9. Review the trail configuration and click on the “Create” button.

3.2 Configuring CloudTrail Trails

Once your trail is created, you can further configure the settings based on your requirements. Some important configurations to consider are:

  • Data Events: Enable data event logging to capture detailed information about resource-level events, such as Amazon EC2 instance launches and termination, S3 bucket object access, etc. This provides deeper insights into how procurement activities impact your AWS resources.

  • Trail Log File Integrity Validation: Enable log file integrity validation to ensure the integrity of your CloudTrail logs. This helps in detecting any modifications made to the log files.

  • KMS Encryption: If desired, you can enable encryption of your CloudTrail logs using AWS Key Management Service (KMS) for enhanced security.

4. Monitoring Procurement Activity

After setting up AWS CloudTrail, you can start monitoring your procurement activity in AWS Marketplace. This section explains how to access and interpret CloudTrail event logs.

4.1 Accessing CloudTrail Event Logs

  1. Log in to the AWS Management Console.
  2. Open the CloudTrail console.
  3. Click on the “Event history” tab.
  4. Select the desired time range and filter options to narrow down the logs.
  5. Review the list of events to see the procurement-related actions.

4.2 Interpreting CloudTrail Event Logs

CloudTrail event logs contain valuable information that can help you understand procurement activities. Here are some key components of CloudTrail logs and what they signify:

  • Event Time: The timestamp when the event occurred.
  • Event Name: The specific event or action that took place, such as “Subscribe” or “Unsubscribe.”
  • Resource Name: The name or identifier of the AWS Marketplace resource involved in the action.
  • User Identity: The IAM User or IAM Role that executed the action.
  • Request Parameters: Additional parameters associated with the event, such as the AWS Marketplace product ID or SKU.
  • Response Elements: The elements returned by the action, such as the AWS Marketplace subscription ARN.

By analyzing these log fields, you can gain insights into the sequence of procurement activities and their impact on your resources.

5. Advanced Features and Best Practices for Procurement Activity Monitoring

To further enhance your procurement activity monitoring capabilities in AWS Marketplace, you can leverage advanced features and adopt best practices. The following are some recommendations:

5.1 Integrating with AWS CloudWatch

By integrating AWS CloudTrail with AWS CloudWatch, you can receive real-time notifications and trigger automated actions based on specific procurement events. This enables proactive monitoring and immediate response to critical actions.

5.2 Creating Custom CloudTrail Event Filters

CloudTrail allows you to create custom filters to selectively log specific events or actions. By configuring custom event filters, you can focus on capturing procurement activities that matter the most to your business and reduce the noise in CloudTrail logs.

5.3 Using AWS Config for Continuous Monitoring

AWS Config is a service that provides an inventory of your AWS resources and continuously monitors their configurations for compliance with desired configurations. By enabling AWS Config, you can have a continuous view of your procurement-related resources and detect any configuration changes that might impact your security and compliance posture.

5.4 Setting Up Alerts and Notifications

CloudTrail logs can be used to set up alerts and notifications for specific procurement events. By defining appropriate CloudWatch Alarms, you can receive notifications through various channels, such as email, SMS, or integration with third-party incident management systems.

Conclusion

With the addition of AWS CloudTrail support, monitoring your procurement activity in AWS Marketplace becomes more seamless and insightful. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can set up CloudTrail, access event logs, and interpret the information to gain visibility and control over your procurement processes. Leveraging advanced features and best practices further enhances your monitoring capabilities and allows you to proactively address any procurement-related issues.

Additional Resources