To analyze audit trails on critical servers for anomalies, what tool is most suitable?

Analyzing audit trails for anomalies involves examining patterns over time to identify deviations that may indicate security incidents or operational issues. Trend/variance detection tools are specifically designed to analyze historical data, establishing normal behavior patterns, and detecting anomalies by comparing current data against these established norms.

These tools often employ statistical analysis and machine learning techniques to highlight significant deviations from expected outcomes, making them ideal for monitoring audit trails. By identifying trends and variances, organizations can quickly pinpoint unusual activities that may require further investigation, thereby enhancing their security posture and compliance efforts.

In contrast, the other options provided do not focus specifically on detecting anomalies within audit trails. Computer-aided software engineering tools are used in software development processes, not audit analysis. Embedded data collection tools facilitate the gathering of data but do not analyze it for trends. Heuristic scanning tools typically focus on identifying known threats based on predefined rules rather than analyzing variances in data over time. Thus, trend/variance detection tools are the most suitable for this specific task.