Logs are most useful when they help answer who did what, when, from where, and what changed. Small teams should start with events that materially affect identity, privilege, data, and security controls.
Prioritize identity events
Capture sign-ins, failed authentication, multifactor changes, password or recovery changes, account creation and disablement, and significant identity-provider events where the platform makes them available.
Record administrative change
Prioritize role and permission changes, security-setting changes, integration or API credential activity, sharing changes, and other actions that can expand access or weaken controls.
Protect the evidence
Limit access to logs, preserve appropriate timestamps, and use retention that reflects operational needs plus applicable contractual, legal, privacy, or regulatory requirements. Avoid collecting sensitive content merely because a platform can log it.
Create an investigation path
Define who reviews alerts, how suspicious events are escalated, and which records should be preserved during an incident. Test that important logs are actually available before an emergency.
Related knowledge
Continue with Privileged Access Reviews, Service Account Security, and Secrets and Credential Management.
References
This is general cybersecurity guidance. Logging, monitoring, retention, and notification requirements can vary by system and applicable obligations.