What is Monitoring?

What is Monitoring?

Monitoring is the continuous observation of systems, networks, and controls to detect threats, unusual activity, or compliance gaps in real time. In a security and compliance context, monitoring goes beyond uptime checks — it encompasses the processes and tools that ensure an organization's security posture remains effective over time.

Types of monitoring

• Security monitoring — detecting threats, intrusions, and malicious activity through SIEM tools, IDS/IPS, and endpoint detection
• Compliance monitoring — tracking whether controls are operating effectively and whether the organization remains aligned with framework requirements
• Infrastructure monitoring — observing system health, performance, and availability across servers, networks, and cloud services
• User activity monitoring — tracking user behavior to detect insider threats, policy violations, or compromised accounts
• Vulnerability monitoring — continuously scanning for known vulnerabilities across the technology stack

Monitoring in compliance frameworks

• SOC 2 — CC7.1 requires the use of detection and monitoring activities to identify anomalies
• ISO 27001 — A.8.16 covers monitoring activities across networks and systems
• PCI DSS — Requirement 10 and 11 address logging, monitoring, and regular security testing
• NIST CSF — the Detect function (DE.CM, DE.AE) is entirely focused on continuous monitoring and anomaly detection

Best practices

• Define clear thresholds and alerting rules to minimize alert fatigue
• Centralize monitoring data for correlation across systems
• Establish escalation procedures so alerts lead to timely investigation
• Review and tune monitoring rules regularly as the environment changes
• Document monitoring coverage and gaps as part of risk assessments

How episki helps

episki tracks monitoring controls, documents coverage, and links monitoring evidence to framework requirements for continuous audit readiness. Learn more on our compliance platform.