Record events affecting the group , passwd (user IDs), shadow and gshadow (passwords) or /etc/security/opasswd (old passwords, based on remember parameter in the PAM configuration) files. The parameters in this section will watch the files to see if they have been opened for write or have had attribute changes (e.g. permissions) and tag them with the identifier 'identity' in the audit log file. Rationale: Unexpected changes to these files could be an indication that the system has been compromised and that an unauthorized user is attempting to hide their activities or compromise additional accounts.
Solution
Edit or create a file in the /etc/audit/rules.d/ directory ending in .rules Example: vi /etc/audit/rules.d/identity.rules and add the following lines: -w /etc/group -p wa -k identity -w /etc/passwd -p wa -k identity -w /etc/gshadow -p wa -k identity -w /etc/shadow -p wa -k identity -w /etc/security/opasswd -p wa -k identity Notes: Reloading the auditd config to set active settings requires the auditd service to be restarted, and may require a system reboot.