What is the process of keeping track of a user's activity?

The process of keeping track of a user's activity is referred to as accounting. This involves collecting and storing records of the actions and operations that users perform within a system. Accounting is a critical aspect of security management as it provides a detailed audit trail that can be used to monitor user behavior, detect unauthorized access, and evaluate compliance with security policies.

Implementing accounting mechanisms allows organizations to identify patterns of usage, recognize anomalies, and support forensic investigations if a security breach occurs. These records typically include information such as user logins, resource access, modifications to data, and timestamps of each action taken.

In contrast to accounting, authentication is the process of verifying a user's identity, while authorization deals with granting or restricting access to resources based on a user's privileges. Non-repudiation ensures that a user cannot deny performing an action, often through the use of digital signatures or logging methods, but it does not specifically track user activity in the same manner that accounting does. Therefore, accounting provides the most direct and relevant focus on tracking and recording user activities.