Google Security Operations (SecOps), is a cloud-native platform providing scalable, unified security analytics. Google Chronicle is a cloud-based security operations platform that enables organizOur earlier articles explored what to ingest, from critical log types to hybrid cloud best practices, now lets focus on how to do it, specifically through the Chronicle Ingestion API.
At the heart of this platform lies the Google Chronicle Ingestion API, a direct and flexible method for forwarding security logs from diverse sources into Google SecOps without the need for additional hardware or complicated forwarding tools. How to Use Google Chronicle Ingestion API: A Step-by-Step Guide.
Before you start sending logs, you need to prepare your environment:
Begin by cataloging all systems, applications, and services that generate security-relevant logs. This includes cloud platforms (Google Cloud, AWS, Azure), on-premises servers, firewalls, legacy systems, SaaS apps (like Office 365 or Salesforce), and network devices. Understanding the diversity and location of your sources is critical for designing a pipeline that delivers complete and actionable security.
While the Ingestion API is your final destination, you first need a method to gather logs from their original sources. For example, you might use a lightweight agent on a legacy server to collect logs and forward them to a central script that then calls the Ingestion API.
Normalize logs into Google’s Unified Data Model (UDM) wherever possible to enable consistent analytics and correlation. For unstructured logs, include the correct log type metadata for proper parsing.
Apply smart filtering to remove:
This will improve signal-to-noise ratio and reduce ingestion costs. Also, don’t forget to prioritize logs that support your use cases, such as threat detection, compliance, and investigations.
Protect sensitive data throughout its lifecycle by encrypting logs in transit and at rest, and applying strict access controls. Make sure your data pipeline respects regulatory requirements, data residency, and retention policies. Proper governance is essential for both operational effectiveness and compliance audits.
Group logs into batches (max 1MB per batch) and send them to the Ingestion API endpoint. Each batch is assigned a unique batch ID internally to prevent duplicates.
Chronicle automatically parses, normalizes, and indexes your data for rapid search and analytics. All data is encrypted and logically separated by customer account.
Use Chronicle’s dashboards and reports to monitor ingestion health, latency, and data quality. Adjust filters, batch sizes, and collection methods as needed to optimize performance and costs.
Netenrich’s Virtual Bootcamp emphasizes the importance of a unified data strategy for hybrid cloud environments. To reiterate and sum up what we have been talking about, here are the key pillars, with practical elaboration:
Centralized visibility allows teams to detect threats faster and respond more effectively. Therefore, you should aggregate and normalize logs from cloud-native, SaaS, and on-premises systems to gain a single-pane-of-glass view for security, operations, and compliance.
Translate varied log formats (JSON, syslog, CEF, Windows Events) into a common schema like UDM. This unlocks advanced analytics and threat detection capabilities since Chronicle can correlate and analyze all ingested data consistently.
Adopt a multi-path approach using agents, APIs, Pub/Sub pipelines, or storage buckets. This flexibility will allow you to ingest data from any environment and adapt as your infrastructure evolves.
Apply advanced filtering to drop low-value data and route only necessary logs to Google SecOps. Use log shippers or edge processing to mask PII, enrich data, and direct logs to the right destinations (e.g., SIEM, cloud storage).
Classify and protect your sensitive data, enforce access controls, and respect data residency and retention requirements. Good governance ensures that you meet all regulatory demands and maintain operational integrity.
Read on to determine the answers to any of the following issues:
Netenrich is a certified Google SecOps partner, offering expert-led implementation, continuous engineering, and ongoing support. Netenrich offers the following solutions to help you make the most of Google SecOps.
By following this guide, organizations can unlock the full potential of Google Chronicle and the Ingestion API, strengthening their security posture and operational resilience.
To understand how best to leverage hybrid cloud data and ingest it into Chronicle, make sure you check out Netenrich's Google SecOps 101 virtual bootcamp.
First, enable the Chronicle API, set up service account credentials, and gather logs from your sources. Normalize them to UDM where possible, batch them (≤1MB), and send to the regional API endpoint using authenticated requests. Chronicle parses and indexes the data automatically for search and analysis.
Prioritize high-value security logs that support detection, compliance, and investigations such as authentication events, firewall logs, DNS queries, and endpoint alerts. Understand your use cases and focus on logs that provide visibility into user behavior, lateral movement, or potential threats. Filter out unused logs to control cost and improve signal quality.
Normalization translates diverse log formats into a common schema within Google Chronicle, enabling unified search and faster correlation across sources. Filtering removes low-value or redundant data before ingestion, reducing noise, improving alert fidelity, and cutting storage costs.
Together, they help your SOC focus on real threats, strengthening your overall security posture.
Encrypt logs in transit and at rest, enforce access controls, and use regional API endpoints that align with data residency rules. Monitor ingestion health with Chronicle dashboards, track error rates, and regularly review filtering rules. Always test changes in a safe environment before applying them to production.
Netenrich helps you identify the right log sources, normalize to UDM, and optimize filters for cost and detection. We’ve helped enterprises like CSG cut onboarding time from weeks to hours. As a certified partner, we’ve helped enterprises accelerate threat detection by 10X while reducing noise by 70%.