What is the primary benefit of enabling S3 Access Logs?

Enabling S3 Access Logs provides the primary benefit of monitoring and auditing access to S3 buckets. With access logs, you can track requests made to your S3 buckets, including details such as the request type, the resources accessed, the requester’s identity, and the timestamp of the request. This data allows organizations to maintain an audit trail, ensuring compliance with security policies and regulations, and helps identify any unusual or unauthorized access patterns that could indicate security threats.

By having a comprehensive log of access events, you can also conduct deeper investigations into issues like performance bottlenecks or operational incidents. This feature is especially valuable for organizations that handle sensitive data and need to adhere to strict governance and compliance requirements. The insights gained from analyzing access logs can inform better security practices, enhance resource usage monitoring, and improve overall governance of cloud resources.