Today’s blog post in our “Common problems with Keycloak” series is all about the auditing function. Learn why it’s more than a necessity and how you can benefit from it, especially for the security of your systems.
⏱ Reading time: 4 minutes
Auditing in Keycloak: not just necessary, but useful
The modern world of IT systems demands increasingly stringent security measures and compliance regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In this complex environment, Keycloak as an identity and access management solution has become an indispensable component for many companies. However, time and again we come up against serious problems – one of which is auditing, which is often neglected.
GDPR compliance and auditing
As a company, we are obliged to comply with data protection regulation and customer data law. Keycloak enables us to process and archive customer data properly. The BYID issue is particularly critical here: what happens if a customer account no longer exists? Here you ensure that the lifecycle guidelines are followed and data is deleted responsibly.
Another critical aspect under the GDPR is the storage of audit data. Under certain conditions, you must be able to prove who had access to which data and when. This is also an essential tool for recognising possible attacks and making them traceable. Auditing in Keycloak offers detailed logging and monitoring functions that make it possible to identify security incidents at an early stage and take action.
Security is not a sure-fire success
Simply implementing Keycloak does not guarantee security. As Keycloak is often not sufficiently secured from the outside, continuous monitoring is all the more important. Best practices for the Keycloak configuration can be very helpful here – especially for the token lifecycle and the security of the admin console.
Auditing in Keycloak is also a useful function here that makes our day-to-day work easier. Regular checks of the audit logs help to identify and analyse suspicious activities at an early stage. We also strongly recommend that you never work in the master realm – this only serves as a template.
Challenges in authorisation management and user administration
Keycloak makes authorisation management and user administration easier. However, this primarily applies to a manageable number of users. For non-technical users, the admin console can quickly become a challenge. Although extensions can help here, it is often better to rely on systems that are designed for scaled user administration and finer authorisation assignment.
However, the auditing function allows you to keep an overview here too and ensure that authorisations are assigned and used correctly. Automation can also save costs and streamline processes.
The update strategy – often underestimated
A well thought-out update strategy is essential to keep your Keycloak instance up to date and to make optimum use of integrated security features. This ensures that new security features are continuously integrated and vulnerabilities are proactively fixed.
A constant review process helps to identify security problems quickly and rectify them effectively. This is the only way to utilise the full functionality of Keycloak while ensuring system integrity.
Conclusion
A responsible audit strategy is at the heart of a secure Keycloak deployment. It is essential to meet compliance, manage security risks and build trust in digitalised business processes. In a time of increasing cyber threats, you should see auditing as an opportunity to strengthen security and proactively adapt your systems to changing requirements. Only through constant updates, a smart authorisation strategy and consistent compliance with data protection regulations can you fully exploit the potential of Keycloak and ensure sustainable business success.
For inexperienced users in particular, it can be wise to concentrate on the core business and call in experts or consultants for special tasks, such as configuring Keycloak, who are familiar with its depths and can tackle security problems effectively. So if you need help with this, feel free to contact us – we’re sure to find a solution!
