The network device must use internal system clocks to generate time stamps for audit records.

Severity	Group ID	Group Title	Version	Rule ID	Date	STIG Version
medium	V-202039	SRG-APP-000116	SRG-APP-000116-NDM-000234	SV-202039r960927_rule	2025-02-11	5

Description
In order to determine what is happening within the network infrastructure or to resolve and trace an attack, the network device must support the organization's capability to correlate the audit log data from multiple network devices to acquire a clear understanding of events. In order to correlate auditable events, time stamps are needed on all of the log records. If the internal clock is not used, the system may not be able to provide time stamps for log messages. Additionally, externally generated time stamps may not be accurate. Applications can use the capability of an operating system or purpose-built module for this purpose. (Note that the internal clock is required to be synchronized with authoritative time sources by other requirements.)

Description

In order to determine what is happening within the network infrastructure or to resolve and trace an attack, the network device must support the organization's capability to correlate the audit log data from multiple network devices to acquire a clear understanding of events. In order to correlate auditable events, time stamps are needed on all of the log records. If the internal clock is not used, the system may not be able to provide time stamps for log messages. Additionally, externally generated time stamps may not be accurate. Applications can use the capability of an operating system or purpose-built module for this purpose. (Note that the internal clock is required to be synchronized with authoritative time sources by other requirements.)

ℹ️ Check
Determine if the network device uses internal system clocks to generate time stamps for audit records. This requirement may be verified by demonstration, configuration, or validated test results. If the network device does not use internal system clocks to generate time stamps for audit records, this is a finding.

✔️ Fix
Configure the network device to use internal system clocks to generate time stamps for audit records.