10.2.1.4 Logs capture invalid logical access attempts
Audit logs must record every invalid logical access attempt. Applies to all entities. The guidance notes that repeated invalid login attempts against a target can signal password guessing or a brute-force attack. Customized approach objective: every invalid access attempt leaves a record.
Source: PCI DSS v4.0.1, 10.2.1.4. The statement above is our statement of the clause, read from the published text and cited so you can check it against the official text, not the instrument verbatim. Open PCI DSS v4.0.1 in the compliance library.
Version 4.0.1 is the active version; 4.0 has been retired. Appendix A1 applies only to multi-tenant service providers, A2 only to card-present POS POI terminals that still use SSL or early TLS, and A3 only when a payment brand or acquirer requires it. Which requirements apply to you follows your validation type.
These are the artefacts auditors commonly ask for on this requirement, our guidance rather than text from the standard. Your assessor decides what is sufficient in your context, and asks for samples across the period when a report covers one.
system holds itEvidence a system already holds
- Audit policy settings enabling failed logon logging on sampled systems · Identity provider / directory
- Sample failed authentication events from servers, applications and network devices · Endpoint management (MDM / EDR)
- SIEM correlation rule for repeated failed logins · Identity provider / directory
- VPN and remote access gateway failed-authentication logs · Identity provider / directory
periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review
none for this control
governing documentDocuments that govern the control
none for this control
First move
Common gaps auditors find
- Failed logons recorded on domain controllers but not on application or database logins
- Network device authentication failures not forwarded to central logging
- Failed attempts captured but without the source address, limiting investigation
Do this for your whole sheet
Paste the rows you run your controls from and get this mapping for every control at once, with the periodic-review ones flagged and a first move per row. No account for the first run.
Build my evidence sheet10.2.1.3 Access to the audit logs is itself logged · 10.2.1.5 Logs capture changes to identification and authentication credentials