5 Real-World Use Cases for Integrating Google SecOps with EDR

Vaibhavi Kadam -

5 Real-World Use Cases for Integrating Google SecOps with EDR

Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar.

Your EDR tool flags a malicious process on an endpoint. Meanwhile, in a separate dashboard, your cloud logs show abnormal data exports from a critical storage bucket. However, without a way to connect these events together, your team spends hours or days connecting these dots manually. 

Gaps like this aren’t just hypotheticals. In 2024, a report suggested that  56% of attacked organizations failed to detect a ransomware breach for periods as long as 3-12 months, indicating a generally low level of preparedness against such threats among organizations just like yours.

This is one reason why integrating Google SecOps with your EDR isn’t just about taking another shot in the dark - it’s actually about engineering a system where endpoint data, cloud activity, and even identity logs collaborate to expose threats.

Further in this blog, we have broken down five real-world scenarios where this integration can strengthen your organization's security.

 5 Key Security Outcomes from Integrating Google SecOps with EDR

1. Prevention of Ransomware Spread Through Unified Detection & Responses

Imagine your EDR detects a process like vssadmin.exe deleting volume shadow copies (a ransomware hallmark). Google SecOps cross-references this with cloud storage logs showing the same device rapidly accessing and modifying S3 bucket policies.

How will integration help?

  • Google SecOps triggers the EDR to immediately isolate the compromised endpoint and terminate any active AWS IAM keys tied to the compromised account.
  • Playbooks are initiated to freeze the affected cloud storage buckets, preventing further data destruction..

This will, in turn, stop the ransomware execution, and the threat will be contained in minutes, avoiding mass encryption.

2. Real-time Prevention of Insider Threats via Contextual Integration

Let’s assume an EDR flags a user copying sensitive files to an external USB drive. Google SecOps would enrich this with identity logs showing the same account authenticated from a residential IP at 3 AM, which is a drastic deviation from normal working hours.

How will integration help?

  • Google SecOps leverages APIs to immediately revoke the user's Active Directory session.
  • Automated playbooks are executed to force a password reset and disable USB access policies on the user's device..

This swift, context-aware response halts data theft attempts before any sensitive information can be exfiltrated.

3. Blocked Phishing-Based Threats Before Execution

If a malicious email attachment executes macros, triggering an EDR alert, GoogleSecOps can correlate this with network DNS logs showing lookups to a known phishing domain, and MFA logs would reveal failed authentication attempts for the same user.

How will integration help?

  • Google SecOps will block the identified phishing domain at the firewall and simultaneously quarantine the infected device via the EDR
  • Playbooks would then reset the user’s email credentials and enforce MFA re-enrollment.

This action will prevent lateral movement within your network and block the attacker's infrastructure.

4. Detection of Lateral Movement via Anomalous Privilege Escalation

Imagine your EDR detects PsExec execution (which is common in lateral movement). GoogleSecOps links this to Active Directory logs showing the same user account granted Domain Admin rights within minutes and network flows to a domain controller.

How will integration help?

  • Google SecOps triggers the EDR to kill suspicious processes and immediately revoke the user’s elevated privileges
  • Automated playbooks will then isolate the destination server and create a memory snapshot for detailed forensic analysis.

Due to this integration, attacker progression will halt before critical systems are compromised.

5. Prevention of Data Exfiltration via Covert Channels

Assume the EDR flags rclone.exe transferring large volumes of data to an external cloud drive. Google SecOps would cross-check with cloud app logs (e.g., Salesforce, SharePoint), showing no legitimate business reason for the transfer and DLP alerts for classified file types.

How will integration help?

  • Google SecOps blocks the external cloud domain at the proxy and terminates the rclone process via EDR.
  • Playbooks would disable the user’s cloud app access and trigger a legal/compliance review.

The Outcome? Sensitive data is retained, and the exfiltration channel gets dismantled.

Why Most Integrations Fail (And How Metron Can Help Prevent This)

Connecting tools is easy, but building a detection engine that actually works isn’t. 

Here’s where DIY efforts often crumble however:

  • Schema Misalignment: EDR fields don’t cleanly map to GoogleSecOps’s UDM, leaving gaps in correlation. 
  • Rule Overload: Teams drown in false positives by writing overly broad detection rules. 
  • Playbook Paralysis: Automating the wrong action (like quarantining a senior executive’s laptop) breeds chaos. 

Fortunately, our team is more than familiar with addressing these challenges. Some of the ways in which we’ve overcome them:

  • We address  misalignment by engineering custom parsers to ensure every piece of data is mapped and is contextualized.
  • We deploy precise YARA-L logic within Google SecOps, focusing on high-risk TTPs (e.g., lateral movement, data exfiltration).
  • We mitigate this risk by rigorously staging and testing playbooks in sandboxed environments and refine them by collaborating with SOC analysts.

The Bottom Line

Integrating Google SecOps with your EDR isn’t about checking a box. It’s about building a system where endpoint data becomes smarter, alerts become actionable, and analysts spend less time investigating and more time mitigating. At Metron, we don’t just connect APIs, we engineer integrations that turn your SOC into a precision instrument.

Considering venturing into security automation and integration - particularly between Google SecOps with EDR? Metron Security has experience integrating multiple security tools with primary systems, along with setting up automation components.

If you are considering any custom cybersecurity solution that focuses on the resources and needs of your organisation, please send a note to connect@metronlabs.com.