When should teams adopt Audit logs in k8s, and when should they avoid it?

Audit logs in Kubernetes (k8s) are a critical component for tracking and monitoring activities in your cluster. Teams should consider adopting audit logs in scenarios such as:

• Regulatory Compliance: If your organization needs to comply with industry regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA), audit logs help maintain compliance by documenting access and changes.
• Security Monitoring: To enhance security posture, audit logs track who accessed what resources and when, helping to detect unauthorized access.
• Debugging and Troubleshooting: Audit logs provide visibility into API requests that can aid in diagnosing issues and understanding the system's behavior.

However, teams might consider avoiding audit logs in the following scenarios:

• Performance Concerns: In extremely high-transaction environments, logging every request can introduce latency or impact performance.
• Resource Constraints: If the cluster has limited resources, the overhead of maintaining extensive audit logs might not be justifiable.
• Low Security Posture: In environments where security policies are lax or there’s minimal risk, the need for detailed logging may be less critical.

Ultimately, the decision to implement audit logs should be based on the team’s specific needs and organizational requirements.