Audit Trail: Compliance Evidence Report

Generate auditor-ready evidence from Datadog Audit Trail for SOC 2 and PCI DSS control requirements.

Prerequisites

pup auth login   # OAuth2 (recommended)
# or set DD_API_KEY + DD_APP_KEY with audit_logs_read scope

Read First

See references/control-mapping.md for the full control → query mapping table and retention requirements by framework.

Retention Check (Run First)

PCI requires 12 months. Datadog default retention is 90 days. Check whether archive is configured:

pup audit-logs search --query "@evt.name:\"Audit Trail\" @action:modified" --from 90d -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      user: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      action: .attributes.attributes.action,
      resource: .attributes.attributes.asset.type
    }]'

If the requested time window exceeds 90 days and no archive is confirmed, surface this gap in the report header.

Workflow

1. Confirm: framework (SOC 2 / PCI DSS), time window, org scope
2. Run retention check
3. Run each relevant control query
4. Format output using the Evidence Report template

---

SOC 2 Queries

CC6.2 — User Provisioning / Deprovisioning

pup audit-logs search \
  --query "@evt.name:\"Access Management\" @asset.type:user @action:(created OR deleted OR modified)" \
  --from PERIOD_START --to PERIOD_END --limit 500 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      actor: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      action: .attributes.attributes.action,
      affected_user: .attributes.attributes.asset.id
    }]'

CC6.3 — Role and Permission Changes

pup audit-logs search \
  --query "@evt.name:\"Access Management\" @asset.type:role" \
  --from PERIOD_START --to PERIOD_END --limit 500 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      actor: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      action: .attributes.attributes.action,
      role_id: .attributes.attributes.asset.id
    }]'

CC6.6 — Failed Logins and Suspicious Access

pup audit-logs search \
  --query "@evt.name:Authentication @action:login @status:error" \
  --from PERIOD_START --to PERIOD_END --limit 500 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      user: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      ip: .attributes.attributes.network.client.ip,
      country: .attributes.attributes.network.client.geoip.country.name
    }]'

CC7.2 — Privileged / Support User Actions

pup audit-logs search \
  --query "@evt.actor.type:SUPPORT_USER" \
  --from PERIOD_START --to PERIOD_END --limit 500 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      support_actor: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      action: .attributes.attributes.action,
      resource_type: .attributes.attributes.asset.type,
      resource_id: .attributes.attributes.asset.id
    }]'

---

PCI DSS Queries

PCI 10.2.2 — Actions by Privileged Users

Same as CC7.2 above. Also include org-level admin actions:

pup audit-logs search \
  --query "@evt.name:\"Organization Management\"" \
  --from PERIOD_START --to PERIOD_END --limit 200 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      actor: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      action: .attributes.attributes.action,
      resource_type: .attributes.attributes.asset.type
    }]'

PCI 10.2.3 — Access to Audit Trail Itself

pup audit-logs search \
  --query "@evt.name:\"Audit Trail\"" \
  --from PERIOD_START --to PERIOD_END --limit 200 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      actor: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      action: .attributes.attributes.action,
      resource_type: .attributes.attributes.asset.type
    }]'

PCI 10.2.4 — Invalid Access Attempts

Same as CC6.6 failed logins above.

PCI 10.2.5 — All Authentication Events

pup audit-logs search \
  --query "@evt.name:Authentication @action:login" \
  --from PERIOD_START --to PERIOD_END --limit 1000 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      user: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      auth_method: .attributes.attributes.auth_method,
      result: .attributes.attributes.status,
      ip: .attributes.attributes.network.client.ip,
      country: .attributes.attributes.network.client.geoip.country.name
    }]'

PCI 10.2.7 — Object Creation and Deletion

pup audit-logs search \
  --query "@action:(created OR deleted)" \
  --from PERIOD_START --to PERIOD_END --limit 1000 -o json \
  | jq '[.data[] | {
      timestamp: .attributes.timestamp,
      user: .attributes.attributes.usr.email,
      action: .attributes.attributes.action,
      resource_type: .attributes.attributes.asset.type,
      resource_id: .attributes.attributes.asset.id,
      ip: .attributes.attributes.network.client.ip
    }]'

---

Evidence Report Template

# Datadog Audit Trail — Compliance Evidence Report
Framework: [SOC 2 / PCI DSS]
Organization: [org name]
Period: [start] to [end]
Generated: [date]

## Scope Boundary
This report covers administrative actions within the Datadog platform.
It does not cover actions taken within systems that Datadog monitors.

## Retention Status
[✓ Full period covered by Audit Trail retention]
[⚠ Requested period exceeds 90-day default. Archive config required for complete coverage.]

---

## [Control ID] — [Control Name]
Events found: [N]

| Timestamp | Actor | Action | Resource Type | Resource ID | IP | Country |
|-----------|-------|--------|---------------|-------------|-----|---------|
| ...       | ...   | ...    | ...           | ...         | ... | ...     |

[Repeat per control]

---

## Gaps
[List any controls where data was unavailable or incomplete, and why]

Scope Caveat

Datadog Audit Trail covers the Datadog platform as the system being audited. For PCI purposes, this is evidence that the monitoring platform's access controls are functioning — not direct evidence about the cardholder data environment (CDE) itself. Auditors should understand this scope boundary.

References

• Audit Trail events reference
• PCI DSS Requirement 10
• SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria