IBM Db2 log monitoring with Log360

Overview

IBM Db2 databases power critical business applications and often store highly sensitive data, making them a prime target for insider threats, privilege misuse, and regulatory scrutiny. ManageEngine Log360 seamlessly ingests and monitors logs from Db2 to provide complete visibility into database activity.

By monitoring and analyzing Db2 audit trails, Log360 helps organizations strengthen database security, detect anomalous behavior, streamline compliance reporting, and accelerate forensic investigations. Whether tracking privileged user activity or maintaining detailed audit trails for regulatory audits, Log360 simplifies and enhances Db2 log management as part of its unified SIEM platform.

How Log360 collects and analyzes IBM Db2 logs

Log360 supports Db2 log collection via secure log file imports. Both agent-based and agentless log forwarding methods are supported, depending on the infrastructure setup. In either case, logs generated using Db2’s native event monitors or audit facility must be properly configured and routed to Log360 for parsing and analysis.

• Agentless log imports: In environments where installing agents is not feasible, logs can be manually or programmatically forwarded from Db2 hosts to Log360 using secure file transfer methods or shared directories.

Custom log parsing (when required)

Log360 provides out-of-the-box support for standard Db2 audit logs from versions 10.x and 11.x. Custom parsing is required only in the following scenarios:

• When logs are exported in non-standard or custom formats
• When logs are collected through third-party log forwarders or aggregators that alter the original structure
• When audit data includes non-audit operational logs or application-specific database activity not covered by standard Db2 auditing

Log processing pipeline

Once collected, Db2 logs are parsed, enriched with metadata, categorized into event types, and stored securely. These logs are then available for real-time alerting, advanced searches, historical analysis, and compliance reporting.

Monitoring capabilities

Log360 collects and analyzes IBM Db2 logs from various categories:

• Audit logs: User connection events such as connections established and connections terminated, failed login attempts, session details, and access timestamps—helping identify unauthorized access and login anomalies
• Transaction logs: DML operations like INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, SELECT, and CALL statements—helping detect unauthorized data modifications and support integrity monitoring and recovery efforts
• System logs: Db2 instance life cycle events such as databases started and databases stopped, backup and restore statuses, and diagnostic messages—enabling performance trend analysis and downtime alerting
• Security logs: DDL activities like CREATE, ALTER, and DROP on schemas, tables, indexes, and views; privilege escalations; and permission changes (database configuration changes and DBM configuration changes)—critical for detecting misconfigurations, policy violations, and operational risks
• Custom event logs: Support for custom audit formats and extended events from third-party tools or custom scripts— allowing for full coverage of specialized deployments and non-standard Db2 environments

Critical Db2 events monitored

Log360 tracks and provides insights into critical database activities, including:

• User authentication: Connections established and terminated and failed login attempts
• Structural database changes: Database creations, deletions, and alterations; schema creation, and deletion
• Table operations: Table creations, deletions, and alterations
• SQL activity: Executions of SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, and CALL statements
• Configuration changes: Database and DBM configuration updates
• Service events: Database starts, stops, and connection events
• Security violations: Unauthorized connection attempts and high-risk SQL operations (e.g., privilege changes, schema modifications, or mass deletions) that may indicate potential abuse or misuse

Key benefits of integrating IBM Db2 with Log360

Log360 offers strategic advantages for organizations monitoring Db2 environments, including:

• Centralized visibility: Monitor all Db2 activity from a single console, eliminating silos and enhancing situational awareness.
• Real-time threat detection: Instantly identify unauthorized access, privilege misuse, or suspicious SQL patterns, such as high-risk or abnormal query activity, via alerts.
• Faster incident investigations: Trace incidents with enriched log context, user attribution, and event timelines.
• An improved data security posture: Detect insider threats, data exfiltration attempts, and compliance violations proactively.
• Operational monitoring: Track database availability, resource utilization, and error patterns for capacity and health analysis.

Addressing IBM Db2 security and compliance challenges

ManageEngine Log360 effectively resolves common challenges faced in Db2 security and compliance management. Here's how:

The Log360 advantage: Beyond database logs

Log360 is not limited to stand-alone Db2 log monitoring. It enhances visibility and incident response by placing Db2 activity in a wider security context:

• Cross-platform correlation: Correlate Db2 logs with events from Windows servers, Linux systems, firewalls, and identity platforms to identify complex attack chains.
• Integrated UEBA: Leverage Log360’s UEBA to profile normal database usage and flag deviations that could indicate insider threats or compromised accounts.
• Threat intelligence: Automatically cross-check IPs, domains, and processes in Db2 logs against global threat feeds to detect indicators of compromise.
• A unified SIEM console: Use a single dashboard to manage logs, generate alerts, conduct investigations, and meet compliance goals across your entire IT ecosystem.

Explore IBM Db2 use cases

Want to see real-world scenarios? Discover how Log360 can help secure your Db2 database against unauthorized access, insider misuse, and audit failures.