diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 10a2c6e..87a9e35 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -49,6 +49,9 @@ PROOFDESK_TERMINAL_MODE=restricted
 PROOFDESK_TERMINAL_RUNTIME=container
 PROOFDESK_SHARED_STATE_BACKEND=redis
 PROOFDESK_REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379/0
+# Comma-separated GitHub logins allowed to read /monitoring/events.
+# Unset or empty means no one is an administrator (the endpoint returns 403).
+PROOFDESK_ADMIN_LOGINS=
 PROOFDESK_MONITORING_ENABLED=true
 PROOFDESK_MONITORING_WEBHOOK_URL=
 
diff --git a/backend/src/middleware/auth.ts b/backend/src/middleware/auth.ts
index 3b812d2..90fd3f1 100644
--- a/backend/src/middleware/auth.ts
+++ b/backend/src/middleware/auth.ts
@@ -36,6 +36,52 @@ export const requireAccessToken = async (req: Request, res: Response, next: Next
   next();
 };
 
+/**
+ * Administrative allow-list, read from PROOFDESK_ADMIN_LOGINS as a
+ * comma-separated list of GitHub logins.
+ *
+ * Parsed per request rather than at module load so an operator can change the
+ * variable without a rebuild, and so tests can set it per case.
+ */
+const getAdminLogins = (): Set<string> =>
+  new Set(
+    String(process.env.PROOFDESK_ADMIN_LOGINS || '')
+      .split(',')
+      .map((entry) => entry.trim().toLowerCase())
+      .filter(Boolean)
+  );
+
+/**
+ * Restricts a route to operators named in PROOFDESK_ADMIN_LOGINS.
+ *
+ * Must be mounted after `requireAccessToken`, which is what populates
+ * `req.authSession`.
+ *
+ * Denies in three cases, all deliberately fail-closed:
+ *
+ *  - the allow-list is empty or unset. An unconfigured allow-list means "no
+ *    administrators have been designated", never "everyone qualifies";
+ *  - there is no authenticated session. `requireAccessToken` also accepts a
+ *    raw bearer token, and in that path `req.authSession` is null — a bearer
+ *    token on its own carries no verified identity to check against the list;
+ *  - the session's login is not on the list.
+ *
+ * Logins are compared case-insensitively, matching GitHub's own treatment.
+ */
+export const requireAdmin = (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction): any => {
+  const admins = getAdminLogins();
+  if (admins.size === 0) {
+    return res.status(403).json({ error: 'Administrative access is not configured' });
+  }
+
+  const login = req.authSession?.user?.login;
+  if (!login || !admins.has(String(login).toLowerCase())) {
+    return res.status(403).json({ error: 'Administrative access required' });
+  }
+
+  next();
+};
+
 export const checkWorkspaceOwner = (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction): any => {
   const { sessionId } = req.params;
   const login = req.authSession?.user?.login;
diff --git a/backend/src/routes/system.routes.ts b/backend/src/routes/system.routes.ts
index c43c6c8..4d042c5 100644
--- a/backend/src/routes/system.routes.ts
+++ b/backend/src/routes/system.routes.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { Router, Request, Response } from 'express';
-import { requireAccessToken } from '../middleware/auth.js';
+import { requireAccessToken, requireAdmin } from '../middleware/auth.js';
 import {
   getMonitoringContextFromRequest,
   readRecentMonitoringEvents,
@@ -76,7 +76,10 @@ export const createSystemRouter = (): Router => {
     });
   });
 
-  router.get('/monitoring/events', requireAccessToken, async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
+  // System-wide monitoring events carry backend and frontend stack traces,
+  // internal filesystem paths and request metadata for every user, so this is
+  // restricted to operators rather than to any authenticated caller.
+  router.get('/monitoring/events', requireAccessToken, requireAdmin, async (req: Request, res: Response) => {
     const limitQuery = req.query.limit;
     const limit = typeof limitQuery === 'string' || typeof limitQuery === 'number' ? Number(limitQuery) : undefined;
     const events = await readRecentMonitoringEvents({