Auditing of BeyondTrust Privileged Remote Access (Cloud)

BeyondTrust provides two types of session logging. All the events of an individual session are logged as a text-based log. This log includes users involved, session tools used, chat transcripts, system information, and any other actions taken by the BeyondTrust user. This data is available on the appliance in an un-editable format for up to 90 days, but it can be moved to an external database using the BeyondTrust API or the BeyondTrust Integration Client. All sessions are assigned a unique session ID referred to as an LSID. The session LSID is a 32-character string that is a unique GUID for each session. The LSID is stored as part of each session log for every session conducted.

BeyondTrust also allows enabling video session recordings. This records the visible user interface of the endpoint screen for the entire screen sharing session. The recording also contains metadata to identify who is in control of the mouse and keyboard at any given time during the playback of the recorded session. The period of time these recordings remain available depends on the amount of session activity and the available storage, up to 90 days maximum. As with the session logging, these recordings can be moved to an external file store using the BeyondTrust API or the BeyondTrust Integration Client.

The BeyondTrust Integration Client can be used to export data from the site and store it if needed to comply with security policies. BeyondTrust can also be configured to store data for a shorter period of time to help comply with security policies.

The Integration Client (IC) is a Windows application that uses the BeyondTrust API to export session logs, recordings, and backups from the BeyondTrust Cloud site according to a defined periodic schedule. The IC uses plug-in modules to determine the repository for the exported data.


In practice, the Integration Client is used to export session data that must be retained for legal and compliance reasons. The reports and recordings are archived in a file system, indexed by session IDs. Data stored in the SQL Server tables may be queried to locate the BeyondTrust session ID corresponding to given search criteria such as date, user, or IP address.

All authentication events, such as when a user logs into the access console or accesses the /login interface, generate a syslog event which can be logged on a syslog server. Additionally, any configuration change that is made to the BeyondTrust Cloud instance also generates a syslog event showing the change that was made and by which user.