Native Integrations

IIS log monitoring and auditing with Log360

IIS is a widely used web server and FTP server for hosting web applications and services on Windows systems. Monitoring IIS log data is critical for detecting attack patterns, troubleshooting failures, and ensuring compliance. Log360 seamlessly supports IIS logs to centralize log collection from both W3C Web Server and W3C FTP sources, helping security and operations teams track access activity, configuration changes, and exploit attempts in real time.

Monitoring and analytics capabilities

W3C web server monitoring

Collects and parses W3C format web server logs for all HTTP requests and server responses.
Tracks denied directory listings, admin resource accesses, spam email headers, and web errors (4xx/5xx).
Audits IIS administrative changes such as authentication mode updates, SSL configurations, request filtering changes, and logging preferences.
Analyzes web traffic patterns, including top users, IPs, countries, HTTP methods, and frequently accessed URLs.
Provides detailed summaries of attack-related events, including possible malicious URL requests and malformed traffic patterns.

W3C FTP server monitoring

Ingests FTP logs related to file transfers, session behavior, and command executions.
Monitors file operations such as deletions, renames, directory creation/removal, and directory listings to spot potential misuse.
Detects login attempts, disconnects, command syntax errors, aborted transfers, and other session-level irregularities.
Audits FTP server configuration changes including logging settings, IP/domain rules, SSL settings, and authentication changes.
Offers rich analytics on top file types uploaded/downloaded, most active users, source ports, and client systems.

Critical IIS server events monitored

W3C web server

SQL injection attempts
Detects malicious query strings in HTTP requests intended to manipulate or extract data from backend databases.
Cross site scripting (XSS) attacks
Monitors script injections embedded in user inputs or URLs used to hijack sessions or deface web content.
cmd.exe, root.exe, and xp_cmdshell executions
Flags execution attempts of system-level commands via the web layer, which often signal privilege escalation or lateral movement.
Directory traversal
Identifies requests using ../ or encoded equivalents to access files and directories outside the web root.
DoS attack patterns
Detects signs of denial-of-service activity, such as repeated malformed requests or overwhelming traffic bursts.
Access to restricted or admin resources
Monitors unauthorized attempts to access privileged paths, admin panels, or sensitive configuration endpoints.
Critical IIS configuration changes
Tracks security-impacting changes like modifications to authentication settings, logging, SSL bindings, or filtering rules.

W3C FTP server

Failed login attempts and brute-force detection
Identifies repeated authentication failures that may indicate brute-force or credential stuffing attacks.
Abnormal upload/download activity
Monitors unusual file transfer volumes or frequency that could indicate data exfiltration or staging.
Command misuse or abuse
Flags sequences involving unexpected or risky FTP commands, including bad syntax or invalid operations.
Incomplete transfers due to space issues
Detects transfer failures caused by insufficient disk space, which could disrupt workflows or mask unauthorized file operations.
FTP configuration changes
Audits updates to isolation settings, IP/domain filters, authentication modes, and logging configurations that impact access and visibility.

Key benefits

W3C web server

Advanced attack detection: Log360 accurately identifies injection, XSS, and file-based exploit attempts using pattern recognition and correlation logic.
Complete configuration audit: Every change made to core IIS components is logged, ensuring accountability and audit readiness.
Behavioral visibility: Understand who’s accessing what, from where, and using which methods—essential for detecting abnormal usage.
Error and misuse tracking: Quickly locate root causes of application failures or unauthorized directory probing.

W3C FTP server

File movement transparency: Every upload, download, rename, or delete operation is tracked, making data movement fully auditable.
Threat response support: Failed logins, aborted transfers, or malformed command sequences are flagged in real time.
Security-focused change monitoring: Detects misconfigurations that could expose the FTP server to unauthorized access or misuse.
Transfer analytics: Provides insights into bandwidth usage, top file types transferred, and most active users or client endpoints.

Addressing key IIS server security challenges

Security challenge	How Log360 addresses it
Detecting web-based attacks like SQL injection and XSS	Uses signature-based detection and pattern analysis to identify and alert on injection and script-based attacks in HTTP requests
Preventing execution of system-level commands via HTTP	Monitors for known exploit patterns like cmd.exe, root.exe, and xp_cmdshell usage to detect remote code execution attempts
Blocking unauthorized access to admin and restricted directories	Flags access attempts to sensitive web resources and monitors denied directory listings to highlight privilege misuse or probing
Identifying denial-of-service attempts	Tracks traffic anomalies, repeated request failures, and malformed packets that indicate DoS attack behavior
Monitoring critical changes to IIS configuration	Audits changes to authentication, SSL, logging, filtering, and IP/domain restrictions to prevent misconfigurations and policy violations
Detecting brute-force attacks on FTP services	Correlates multiple failed login attempts and identifies login patterns that suggest brute-force or credential attacks
Securing file transfers and preventing data exfiltration	Monitors FTP uploads, downloads, and file operations for unusual activity and volume, and flags potential exfiltration attempts
Tracking unauthorized or malformed FTP commands	Detects protocol violations, bad command sequences, and misuse of administrative commands to catch evasion or abuse attempts
Preventing transfer failures due to insufficient storage	Alerts on incomplete transfers caused by low disk space, helping ensure operational continuity and availability