Tracking and Auditing Failed Login Attempts in SQL

Auditing Failed Login Attempts

Write a SQL query to audit failed login attempts using SQL Server Audit.

Solution:

-- Create a server audit for failed login attempts.
CREATE SERVER AUDIT FailedLoginAudit
TO FILE (FILEPATH = 'C:\Audits\');

-- Enable the audit.
ALTER SERVER AUDIT FailedLoginAudit WITH (STATE = ON);

-- Create a server audit specification.
CREATE SERVER AUDIT SPECIFICATION FailedLoginSpec
FOR SERVER AUDIT FailedLoginAudit
ADD (FAILED_LOGIN_GROUP);

-- Enable the audit specification.
ALTER SERVER AUDIT SPECIFICATION FailedLoginSpec WITH (STATE = ON);

Explanation:

• Purpose of the Query :
• The goal is to demonstrate how to audit failed login attempts for security monitoring.
• Key Components :
• CREATE SERVER AUDIT: Defines an audit for logging events.
• FAILED_LOGIN_GROUP: Captures failed login attempts.
• ALTER SERVER AUDIT: Enables the audit.
• Why Audit Failed Logins? :
• Auditing failed logins helps detect brute-force attacks and unauthorized access attempts.
• It supports compliance with security standards.
• Real-World Application :
• In production environments, auditing ensures accountability and detects threats.

Additional Notes:

• Store audit logs securely to prevent tampering.
• Regularly review logs for suspicious activity.
• Important Considerations:
• Ensure that auditing does not degrade performance.

For more Practice: Solve these Related Problems:

• Write a SQL query to audit failed login attempts and log them to a file for security analysis.
• Write a SQL query to create an audit specification for capturing unauthorized access attempts.
• Write a SQL query to monitor and log all failed login attempts for users with administrative privileges.
• Write a SQL query to configure an audit for detecting brute-force attacks on the database server.

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• SQL Practical Security and Access Control Exercises Home ↩
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