A scheduled task was deleted
An existing scheduled task was deleted from Task Scheduler.
Event ID 4699 logs when a scheduled task (`Task Name`) is removed (`schtasks /delete`). Attackers often delete temporary scheduled persistence jobs right after executing payloads (`cleanup`).
Failure Reason / Root Cause:
Task expiration, uninstaller cleanup, or attacker covering tracks.
Raw Event XML snippet
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing" Guid="{54849625-5478-4994-A5BA-3E3B0328C30D}" />
<EventID>4699</EventID>
<Version>0</Version>
<Level>0</Level>
<Task>12544</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8020000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2026-07-17T09:54:44.880Z" />
<EventRecordID>1048576</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="612" ThreadID="1024" />
<Channel>Security</Channel>
<Computer>DC01.enterprise.internal</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="SubjectUserSid">S-1-5-18</Data>
<Data Name="SubjectUserName">SYSTEM</Data>
<Data Name="SubjectDomainName">NT AUTHORITY</Data>
<Data Name="SubjectLogonId">0x3e7</Data>
<!-- Event telemetry fields specific to A scheduled task was deleted -->
</EventData>
</Event>MITRE ATT&CK mapping
| ID | Technique | Tactic |
|---|---|---|
T1070 | Indicator Removal | Defense Evasion |
Recommended actions
- Correlate with Event ID 4698 creation timestamps to spot temporary short-lived persistence tasks (<5 minutes duration).