Use SaaS Logs to Monitor Admin-Initiated Deletions Across Platforms

Administrator accounts hold high-level permissions, allowing techs to manage and monitor systems, networks, and servers across environments. However, as powerful as they are, one misclick may delete crucial SaaS files, including shared drives, mailboxes, records, and communications history.

Without proper documentation of SaaS logs, accidental deletions can lead to permanent data loss, especially if backup and retention policies aren’t aligned. Depending on the severity of data loss, compliance violations can occur while blindsiding techs and clients on malicious internal activity.

SaaS audit logging strategies for effective file deletion monitoring

SaaS logs provide a clear audit trail when tracking admin-initiated deletes, keeping techs in the loop. Clear SaaS logs speed up root-cause analysis, helping admins determine if deletions were accidental, malicious, or policy-driven.

Proactive IT management streamlines recovery after accidental deletions, reducing downtime while minimizing legal exposure and potential compliance violations. Additionally, having the proper metrics during QBRs strengthens client trust and proves due diligence for MSPs and internal IT teams.

📌 Prerequisites:

• Centralized log storage (e.g., NinjaOne Docs, SIEM)
• Access to SaaS admin consoles and audit logs
• Defined client compliance requirements
• Escalation SLAs are in place when suspicious deletes occur

Strategy #1: Enable access to native SaaS logs

Enabling SaaS logs serves as the foundation that makes deletion monitoring possible. Without turning on logs within SaaS applications, reliably detecting deletions, proving intent, recovery, and audits becomes more difficult.

A good first step is to enable audit logs per SaaS application subscription or ownership that every client has. This ensures that app events are well documented, providing transparency in case accidental or malicious deletes happen.

Sample SaaS applications to check and ways to access their logging feature

• Google Workspace: Go to the Admin Console, select Reporting > Audit and investigation, then select Drive log events or User log events.
• Microsoft 365: Access the Microsoft Purview Portal and enable Unified Audit Log.
• Salesforce: Activate the Shield Event Monitoring add-on to closely track deletions.
• Slack: Leverage Audit Logs API to monitor message and file deletions.

Sample Python script to query Slack’s Audit Logs API

The following Python script pulls all deletion events initiated by admins through the “action”: “file_deleted” filter. Replace the xoxp-your-token with a valid Slack Enterprise Grid token that has access to the Audit Logs API.

⚠️ Important: Input a valid Slack Enterprise Grid token, as free or standard plans don’t include the Audit Logs API feature.

Strategy #2: Build a cross-platform file deletion monitoring inventory

Visibility through logs is the first step of implementing effective file deletion tracking strategies. However, each SaaS platform logs and labels deletions uniquely, and without standardization, vendor data becomes fragmented and difficult to analyze.

Identify which deletion events matter

Not all deletion events are equal in terms of risk, and nonselective deletion monitoring converts crucial insights into noise. Targeted monitoring shifts the focus from broad targets to high-impact deletions, ensuring that logs deliver actionable insights and meaningful information for audits and QBRs.

That said, it’s important to determine which deletion events matter across an environment. For instance, closely monitoring the following:

• Google Workspace: Shared Drive deletions, user mailbox purge, and Google Group removals.
• Microsoft 365: Exchange mailbox purge, SharePoint or Teams site deletion, and OneDrive folder deletion.
• Salesforce: Customer record deletion or object purges.
• Slack: Channel deletion or message purges.

Export SaaS logs to CSV or via APIs

Most SaaS platforms can export their audit logs to CSVs and, for better automation, APIs. Exporting these data offers portability, allowing techs and admins to review, share, and back up deletion logs outside their respective SaaS platforms. This provides a centralized view for streamlined deletion tracking and monitoring.

💡 Note: Not all SaaS logs surface granular deletion insights, particularly those within lower licensing tiers. Further data enrichment using other applications may be needed to provide better insights.

Standardize data using a consistent format

Each platform has its own naming convention, and a single field can be labeled differently, resulting in confusion and fragmented interpretation. For instance, an actor can be found under different fields, such as initiated_by or userPrincipalName.

Leveraging a consistent schema enables streamlined cross-platform queries, making monitoring centralized while organizing data within an audit-ready list.

Sample deletion events inventory

When combined, the strategies in this section condense into a dashboard that consolidates events across SaaS platforms centrally. This allows technicians and administrators to view all important metrics within a single pane of glass.

💡 Tip: Sync endpoint and SaaS clocks in UTC to ensure comparable timelines during cross-system comparisons.

Strategy #3: Set thresholds for alerts and escalation

Thresholds convert raw data noise into signals while preventing alert fatigue. This helps technicians proactively spot deletions across SaaS platforms for quick remediation, minimizing potential data loss and downtime.

Flag mass deletions after a certain threshold

Flagging mass deletions after a certain threshold (e.g., > 100 files in Google Drive) helps quickly detect risky deletion patterns. Early detection allows technicians to mitigate malicious deletion by freezing accounts and restoring data, limiting the deletion scope before it spreads.

Trigger alerts for high-risk, admin-initiated deletions

A compromised admin account can have an enormous impact on clients. For instance, the deletion of Salesforce customer databases can severely impact client profit and organizational workflow. MSPs and internal IT teams must capture, control, and document all privileged deletions, even before they exceed thresholds.

Escalate suspicious deletions

After detecting a suspicious deletion, thresholds route unusual activity to the right people while ensuring routine cleanups remain untouched. These cutoffs reduce noise, focusing admins’ attention on real risks.

The resulting documentation shows who reviewed what and when, proving accountability and generating a clean audit trail. This guides admins in correctly judging whether deletions are routine or malicious, helping them take the proper course of action.

Strategy #4: Convert raw SaaS logs into client-facing reports

Not all clients can navigate complicated metrics and technical jargon, limiting mutual understanding between techs and clients. When creating a report, translate technical logs into client-facing metrics through data visualization and client-facing language.

Transparent communication builds client trust, proving service delivery value to clients when incidental or malicious deletion events occur. This opens doors for future collaboration for MSPs, while helping internal IT teams earn their leadership’s confidence.

Strategy #5: Periodically validate SaaS backup recoverability

Regular testing exposes risks and gaps within backup strategies, troubleshooting bottlenecks, and fine-tuning recovery objectives to meet compliance requirements. Periodic testing of SaaS backups is a must to prove reliability and ensure compliance with retention policies.

After testing, compare if the results comply with documented recovery timelines, such as RPO and RTO, confirming actual backup performance. Leverage performance metrics to take data-backed actions, such as tuning backup cadence, refining runbooks, or upgrading strategies where current tooling proves insufficient.

Validate SaaS backups quarterly and document test results to provide rationale on actions taken during QBRs. This right-sizes client expectations within technical limitations, preventing surprises when real incidents happen.

NinjaOne integrations to support SaaS file deletion tracking and reporting

From storing documentation to ensuring SLA alignment, NinjaOne serves as the central hub that ties individual strategies into deliverable services. Here are the NinjaOne services you can use to support SaaS file deletion monitoring and reporting workflows:

• NinjaOne Documentation. Consolidate all cross-platform deletion reports across all clients using NinjaOne Docs. Store documentation globally or create a separate knowledge base for each client to enhance visibility and ease of access.
• Custom alerts. Create custom alerts to quickly notify technicians after detecting suspicious deletion events and schedule reminders for quarterly deletion activity reviews.
• Unified SaaS backup solution. Protect Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace data from accidental or malicious deletions under a single, unified console.
• Custom reporting tool. Automatically transform raw deletion metrics into client-facing reports. Leverage NinjaOne’s wide collection of templates to highlight relevant deletion insights, making reports nuanced and targeted.
• Automated ticketing. Track recovery tests, escalations, deletions, and IT asset management through NinjaOne’s automated ticketing workflow. Provide technicians with actionable insights by incorporating context-rich information within tickets.

Export SaaS logs to strengthen deletion monitoring practices

Tracking suspicious admin-initiated deletions is vital in minimizing risk and ensuring clients stay compliant with regulatory frameworks. By exporting SaaS-native logs, MSPs and internal IT can consolidate and track cross-platform deletions centrally using a standardized matrix.

Set thresholds to automatically flag and alert when suspicious deletions, such as large-scale SaaS data removals, are detected. Review SaaS backup integrity and reliability every quarter and report findings within QBRs to foster transparent communication with clients.

Integrate NinjaOne with monitoring processes to centralize and automate documentation, reporting, ticketing, and SaaS backup strategies under a single platform.

Related topics:

• Why SaaS Backup Matters for MSPs
• The Top Five Benefits of SaaS IT Management Solutions
• SaaS Backup: Complete Guide & Best Practices