What type of logs are commonly used to monitor malicious network activities?

Firewall logs are essential for monitoring malicious network activities because they capture all traffic that passes through the firewall. This includes both allowed and denied connection attempts, providing insights into potential threats such as unauthorized access attempts, port scanning, or traffic from known malicious IP addresses. By analyzing these logs, security teams can identify patterns or anomalies indicative of an attack, allowing them to respond promptly to mitigate risks.

While server logs, access logs, and application logs can also provide useful information about network activity and potential security incidents, they do not specialize in capturing network-level interactions as effectively as firewall logs. Server logs may detail system events and operations within a server, access logs track user access to certain resources, and application logs record events specific to an application. However, for direct monitoring of network traffic and potential malicious behavior, firewall logs are the most relevant and targeted tool in a security monitoring strategy.