User Management - Encrypted Field Access Logs

Learn how you can monitor the actions occurring on encrypted fields with the help of the Encrypted Field Access Logs.

Ruba

16 Nov, 2023 - Updated 5 months ago

Introduction

Have encrypted data stored on the CRM?

Then we are sure you would like to monitor the actions performed on it.

Why would you do that?

To ensure that the data is not misused and unauthorized users don’t access it.

Vtiger CRM’s encrypted field logs are records of all the actions that take place on encrypted fields.

What are encrypted fields

An encrypted field is used to store sensitive information about a contact or a lead, such as credit card numbers, CVV, bank account details, etc. You need to get consent from the contact or lead to store such information.

To learn more about consents, click here.

Now that you know what encrypted fields are, let us learn how to create encrypted fields and view the access logs. Read on.

Creating an Encrypted Field

Note: You can create only up to five encrypted fields in a module.

Follow these steps to create encrypted fields:

Log in to your CRM account.
Click the User Menu on the top right corner of the CRM screen.
Click Settings.
Select Module Layouts & Fields under Module Management.
Choose Contacts from the Select Module drop-down.
Click the Detail View Layout tab.
Click the +Add Custom Field button under any block you want to create it in. For example, under Basic Information, Address Details, etc.
- Note: You can also create a new block and add an encrypted field under it:
  1. Click the +Add Block button.
  2. Enter the block name.
  3. Choose the existing block after which you want to add the new block.
  4. Click Save.
  5. Click the +Add Custom Field button in the newly created block.
Select the field type as Text.
- Note: Encrypted fields can only be of type Text.
Enter the field name under Label Name.
Enter a default value for the field (optional).
Enable the checkbox for Encrypt under Enable/Disable field properties.
Type ENCRYPT in the textbox provided.
Click the Encrypt button.
Enter the number of characters in the encrypted field that must be visible to CRM users.
Click Save.

The value in the encrypted field is hidden from CRM users, except the users who have permission to view the value.

To learn how to give users permission to view encrypted fields, click here.

Accessing the Encrypted Field Access Logs

You can access the log only if you are an Admin user.

Follow these steps to view the encrypted field access logs:

Log in to your CRM account.
Click the User Menu on the top right corner of the CRM screen.
Click Settings.
Look for the User Management section.
Click Encrypted Field Access Logs.

When you land on the page, you will see the list of all the view and update logs.

Information available in the access logs

The table below shows the information that is displayed in the Encrypted Field Access log.

Information	Description
Field Name	The name of the encrypted field that was accessed.
Record Name	The name of the record that contains the encrypted field.
Module	The name of the module that contacts the encrypted field.
User Name	The name of the user who accessed the encrypted field.
Action	The action that was performed on the encrypted field: Changed: This means the value of the field was changed. Revealed: This means the value of the field was revealed or disclosed.
Performed On	The date and time at which the encrypted field was accessed.

Filtering the Access Logs

You can filter access logs to view desired information. Simply specify the data you want the CRM to filter and display!

You can view access logs for a particular user name, dates, etc. For instance, if you want to know if the encrypted information on your CRM was accessed by anybody in the past week, you can filter the start and end dates of the week. This filters out the log and shows only the past week’s information.

Follow these steps to filter access log information:

Log in to your CRM account.
Click the User Menu on the top right corner of the CRM screen.
Click Settings.
Look for the User Management section.
Click Encrypted Field Access Logs.
Select an option from the space provided under the column names.
1. For example, if you want to view the access logs for a particular user, select the user’s name from the User Name column.
Click the Search icon located on the left side under the column names.

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