Exporting Security Command Center data

This page describes two methods for exporting Security Command Center data, including assets, findings, and security marks:

• One-time exports for existing findings, assets, and security marks
• Continuous exports that automatically export new findings to Pub/Sub

You can export Security Command Center data by using the Google Cloud console, the Google Cloud CLI, or the Security Command Center API.

You can also stream findings to BigQuery. For more information, see Stream findings to BigQuery for analysis.

One-time exports

One-time exports let you manually transfer and download current and historical findings and assets.

For findings, you can use the Google Cloud console to transfer data in JSON, JSONL, or CSV format to a Cloud Storage bucket. You can also download a limited number of findings to your workstation in CSV format.

For assets, you can download the data from the Google Cloud console to your local workstation as a CSV file.

Permissions

To perform one-time exports, you need the following:

• The Identity and Access Management (IAM) role Security Center Admin Viewer (roles/securitycenter.adminViewer), or any role that has the following permissions:

  • resourcemanager.organizations.get (required only for organization-level activations of Security Command Center)
  • resourcemanager.projects.get (required for project-level activations of Security Command Center)
  • securitycenter.assets.group
  • securitycenter.assets.list
  • securitycenter.findings.group
  • securitycenter.findings.list
  • securitycenter.sources.get
  • securitycenter.sources.list
  • securitycenter.userinterfacemetadata.get

• The Storage Admin role, which lets you store data in Cloud Storage buckets.

The IAM roles for Security Command Center can be granted at the organization, folder, or project level. Your ability to view, edit, create, or update findings, assets, and security sources depends on the level for which you are granted access. To learn more about Security Command Center roles, see Access control.

Data residency and one-time exports

You cannot include any of your data that is subject to data residency control in the filter of a one-time export to Cloud Storage.

If you specify a property that contains controlled data in the finding filter, Security Command Center returns an error message when you attempt the export.

Export data using the Google Cloud console

Using the Google Cloud console, you can do the following:

• Export findings to a Cloud Storage bucket
• Download findings to a CSV file
• Export assets to a CSV file

Export findings to a Cloud Storage bucket

This section describes how to export Security Command Center data to a Cloud Storage bucket. When you click Export on the Findings page in the Google Cloud console, Security Command Center automatically gets credentials or permissions to write to the Cloud Storage bucket.

Findings are exported in separate operations. You can export a JSON file, a JSONL file, or a CSV file to an existing Cloud Storage bucket or create a bucket during the export process. You can export all current findings, or select the filters you want to use before you export.

You can't export findings to a Cloud Storage bucket that has the retention policy set.

1. Go to Findings page in the Google Cloud console.

   Go to Findings

2. On the toolbar, click the project selector, and select your project, folder, or organization.

3. Select the findings that you need to export by applying filters to the findings query. For more information about creating filters, see Find and view specific findings.

4. When you're done creating a filter, click Export, and then, under One-time, click Cloud storage.

5. On the Export page, configure the export:

   1. In the Export to section, specify the following fields:
      1. In the Project name field, specify the project that contains the Cloud Storage bucket.
      2. In the Export path field, which only appears after you specify a project, click Browse.
      3. On the Select object panel, select an existing Cloud Storage bucket or create a storage bucket.
      4. After you select or create a bucket, under Filename, enter a name for the export file.
      5. Click Select.
   2. In the Export criteria section, specify the following fields:
      1. Click Group results by, and select how you want to group the export data.
      2. Click in the Format field and select JSON, JSONL, or CSV.
      3. Click in the Time range field and select the time period from which to export findings.
   3. In the Findings query section, confirm the query appears as you expect.
   4. Below the query, confirm that the number and type of matching findings are what you expect.
   5. Click Export.

   If you selected an existing file in the bucket, the Confirm Overwrite dialog displays.

   • To overwrite the existing file, click Confirm.
   • To change the file you're writing to, click Cancel, then click Browse in the Export path box and select or create a different file.

The configured data is saved to the Cloud Storage bucket that you specified.

Download exported data from a Cloud Storage bucket

To download the exported JSON, JSONL, or CSV data, perform the following steps:

1. Go to the Storage browser page in the Google Cloud console.

   Go to Storage browser

2. Select your project, and then click the bucket to which you exported data.

3. Select the checkbox next to the export file, and then click Download.

4. On the Save File dialog, select the location where you want to save the file, and then click Save.

The JSON, JSONL, or CSV file is downloaded to the location that you specified.

Export findings to a CSV file

To configure the export, you can filter findings by category, severity, and other properties. All findings that match the filter are included in the CSV file.

You can download up to 1,000 findings directly to your workstation. If the number of findings exceeds 1,000, you are prompted to refine your query to get fewer results. Alternatively, you can export the data to a Cloud Storage bucket.

The finding records are exported with a default set of columns, which might not match what you see in the console. That is, hiding or displaying columns doesn't change which columns are exported. Similarly, changing the number of rows displayed per page—which you can do in the Google Cloud console—has no effect on the exported content.

For information about how to export findings to a CSV file, click the tab for the console that you are using.

Google Cloud console

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Findings page of Security Command Center.

   Go to Findings

2. Select your Google Cloud project or organization.
3. Optional: To refine the selection of findings to be exported, apply filters.
4. Click Export > CSV. The CSV file is downloaded to your local workstation.

Security Operations console

Enterprise tier only: This feature is available only with the Security Command Center Enterprise tier.

1. In the Security Operations console, go to the Findings page.

   https://CUSTOMER_SUBDOMAIN.backstory.chronicle.security/posture/findings
   

   Replace CUSTOMER_SUBDOMAIN with your customer-specific identifier.

2. Optional: To refine the selection of findings to be exported, apply filters.
3. Click Export > CSV. The CSV file is downloaded to your local workstation.

Export assets to a CSV file

You can download asset data to a CSV file from the Assets page in the Google Cloud console.

To download asset data to a CSV file, follow these steps:

1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Assets page of Security Command Center.

   Go to Assets

2. On the toolbar, click the project selector, and select your project, folder, or organization.

3. Use the Quick filters panel or the Filter field of the asset results panel to select the assets you need to export. For more information about filtering assets, see Filtering assets.

4. Above the displayed assets, click Export and then Download CSV. The data for the assets in the results panel are downloaded to your workstation.

Export data using API methods

You can export assets, findings, and security marks to a Cloud Storage bucket or your local workstation by using the Security Command Center API.

Export asset data using API methods

To export or list asset data, use the Cloud Asset Inventory API. For more information, see Export asset history and metadata.

The asset methods and fields of the Security Command Center API are deprecated and will be removed on or after June 26, 2024.

Until they are removed, users who activated Security Command Center before June 26, 2023 can use the asset methods of the Security Command Center API to list and export asset data, but these methods support only the assets that Security Command Center supports.

For information about using the deprecated asset API methods, see listing assets.

Export finding data using the Security Command Center API

To export findings with the Security Command Center API, follow the guide for listing security findings, and then download or export the API responses.

To list findings with any attached security marks, you can use the following API methods:

• organizations.sources.findings/list
• folders.sources.findings/list
• project.sources.findings/list

The methods return findings with their full set of properties, attributes, and associated marks in JSON format. If your application requires data to be in a different format, you need to write custom code to convert the JSON output.

If you specify a value in the groupBy field, you can use the following methods:

• organizations.sources.findings/group
• folders.sources.findings/list
• projects.sources.findings/group

The GroupFindings method returns a list of an organization's findings, grouped by specified properties.

Export findings using the gcloud CLI

To use Google Cloud CLI commands in the Cloud Shell to export findings to a Cloud Storage bucket, follow these steps:

1. Open Cloud Shell.

   Go to Cloud Shell

2. To write findings to a file, add an output string to the gcloud CLI commands for listing findings.

   For example, the following command stores listed findings in a text file named FINDINGS.txt.

    gcloud scc findings list PARENT_ID --source=SOURCE_ID \
      --location=locations/LOCATION --filter="FILTER" > FINDINGS.txt
   

   Replace the following:

   • FILTER: An optional expression to limit the list of findings printed to those that match the filter expression.

     • LOCATION: If data residency is enabled, specify the Security Command Center location in which the findings are stored.

       If data residency is not enabled, specifying the --location flag lists the findings by using Security Command Center API v2, and the only valid value for the flag is global.

   • PARENT_ID: the ID of any of the following parent resources:

     • Organization, specified as organizations/ORGANIZATION_ID or ORGANIZATION_ID
     • Folder, specified as folders/FOLDER_ID
     • Project, specified as projects/PROJECT_ID

   • SOURCE_ID: the source ID for the finding provider. To find a source ID, see Getting the source ID.

   • FINDINGS.txt: the name and extension of a target file to store the list of findings.

3. Copy FINDINGS.txt to your Cloud Storage bucket.

   gcloud storage cp FINDINGS.txt gs://BUCKET_NAME

   Replace BUCKET_NAME with the name of your bucket.

4. To save FINDINGS.txt to your local workstation instead of a Cloud Storage bucket, run the following command:

   cloudshell download FINDINGS.txt

Continuous exports

Continuous exports simplify the process of automatically exporting Security Command Center findings into Pub/Sub. When new findings are written, they are automatically exported to designated Pub/Sub topics in near-real time, letting you integrate them into your existing workflow.

To learn more about Pub/Sub, see What is Pub/Sub?

Security Command Center to BigQuery export

When an attribute of a finding is updated in Security Command Center, a snapshot of the finding is taken, and Security Command Center attempts to send that snapshot to BigQuery.

• If the attributes of the finding in the snapshot match the export filter defined in the BigQueryExport, the snapshot is sent to BigQuery, where it becomes the current record of the finding in BigQuery.

• If the attributes of the finding don't match the filter, the snapshot is not sent to BigQuery. If a previous snapshot of the finding exists in BigQuery, that previous snapshot becomes the current record of the finding in BigQuery, even though the snapshot does not reflect the update to the attribute that occurred in Security Command Center.

For example, if the filter for a BigQuery export contains the active state, a new finding is issued with the active state, and a snapshot of the finding is exported successfully to BigQuery.

Later, the state of that finding in Security Command Center is updated inactive. The update triggers an export of a new snapshot of the finding to BigQuery, but, because the state value no longer matches the filter, the filter blocks the export of the finding snapshot.

Consequently, the snapshot of the finding in BigQuery still has the active state, but the same finding in Security Command Center has the inactive state.

This also results in a mismatch between the number of active findings in Security Command Center and the number of active findings in BigQuery. The number is almost always greater in BigQuery than it is in Security Command Center.

For example, if an export filter specifies the active state and 100 findings are generated with the active state, all 100 get exported to BigQuery. Then later in Security Command Center, 50 of those findings get updated to inactive, and the filter blocks the export triggered by the updates because the state value no longer matches the filter. Consequently, in BigQuery, all 100 of the findings are still active, while in Security Command Center only 50 findings remain active.

Continuous exports versus finding notifications

Security Command Center lets you set up finding notifications for Pub/Sub using the Security Command Center API. The API requires you to use Google Cloud CLI to set up Pub/Sub topics, create finding filters, and create NotificationConfigs, files that contain configuration settings to send notifications. Continuous exports offer the same functionality, but creating exports is simplified by using the Google Cloud console.

Permissions

To create and manage continuous exports, you need one of the following roles.

• roles/securitycenter.adminEditor
• roles/securitycenter.adminViewer

You can also use any role that has the following permissions:

• To view or publish Pub/Sub topics:

  • pubsub.topics.publish
  • pubsub.topics.list

• To view the continuous exports page:

  • securitycenter.notificationconfig.get
  • securitycenter.notificationconfig.list

• To manage continuous exports:

  • securitycenter.notificationconfig.create
  • securitycenter.notificationconfig.update
  • securitycenter.notificationconfig.delete

To learn more about Security Command Center roles, see Access control.

Data residency and continuous exports

Preview — Data residency

This feature is subject to the "Pre-GA Offerings Terms" in the General Service Terms section of the Service Specific Terms. Pre-GA features are available "as is" and might have limited support. For more information, see the launch stage descriptions.

If data residency is enabled for Security Command Center, the configurations that define continuous exports to Pub/Sub—notificationConfig resources—are subject to data residency control and are stored in a Security Command Center location that you select.

To export findings in a Security Command Center location to Pub/Sub, you must configure the continuous export in the same Security Command Center location as the findings.

Because the filters that are used in continuous exports can contain data that is subject to residency controls, make sure you specify the correct location before you create them. Security Command Center does not restrict which location you create exports in.

Continuous exports are stored only in the location in which they are created and cannot be viewed or edited in other locations.

After you create a continuous export, you can't change its location. To change the location, you need to delete the continuous export and recreate it in the new location.

To retrieve a continuous export by using API calls, you need to specify the location in the full resource name of the notificationConfig. For example:

GET https://securitycenter.googleapis.com/v2/{name=organizations/123/locations/eu/notificationConfigs/my-pubsub-export-01}

Similarly, to retrieve a continuous export by using the gcloud CLI, you need to specify the location either in the full resource name of the configuration or by using the --locations flag. For example:

gcloud scc notifications describe myContinuousExport organizations/123 \
    --location=locations/us

Create a continuous export to Pub/Sub

Continuous exports let you automate the export of all future findings to Pub/Sub or create filters to export future findings that meet specific criteria. You can filter findings by category, source, asset type, security marks, severity, state, and other variables.

Your organization can create a maximum of 500 continuous exports.

Security Command Center API v2 Preview

If you create a continuous export by using the v2 API the resulting NotificationConfig resource is handled separately from a NotificationConfig resource that is created by the v1 API.

During the v2 API Preview, continuous exports or notifications that you create using the v2 API are not supported in the Google Cloud console. To work with continuous exports or notifications that are created by the v2 API, you must use the v2 API or a gcloud CLI command with the `--location` flag specified.

Similarly, you cannot use the v2 API to work with continuous exports or notifications that are created with the v1 API.

To create an export for Pub/Sub, do the following:

1. Go to the Security Command Center Findings page in the Google Cloud console.

   Go to Findings

2. On the toolbar, click the project selector, and select your project, folder, or organization.

3. Optional: If data residency is enabled for Security Command Center, then change the data location as necessary.

   To change the data location, click the location selector in the action bar.

   

   A list of locations appears. Select the new location.

4. In the Findings query results field, select the findings to export by using either of the following methods:

   • By clicking Add Filter to select the properties of the findings you need to export.

     The Select filter dialog lets you choose supported finding attributes and values.

     1. Select a finding attribute or type its name in the Search finding attributes box. A list of the available sub-attributes displays.
     2. Select a sub-attribute. A selection field displays where you can build the query statement using the sub-attribute you selected, a query operator, and one or more values for the sub-attribute.
     3. Select the operator and one or more values for the sub-attribute from the panel. For more information about query operators and functions that they use, see Query operators in the Add filters menu.
     4. Click Apply.

        The dialog closes and your query is updated.

     5. Repeat until the findings query contains all the attributes you want.

   • By manually coding the finding query in the query editor. You can use standard SQL operators AND,OR, equals (=), has (:), and not (-) to specify the finding properties and values of the findings you need to export.

     As you type in your query, an autocomplete menu appears, where you can select filter names and functions.

     For example, the following query mutes low-severity and medium-severity anomalous IAM grant findings in prod-project, and excludes resource types where the name has the substring compute:

     severity="LOW" OR severity="MEDIUM" AND category="Persistence:
     IAM Anomalous Grant" AND resource.project_display_name="prod-project"
     AND -resource.type:"compute"
     

     For more examples on filtering findings, see Filtering notifications.

5. Review the resulting query for accuracy. To make changes, delete or add properties and filter values as needed.

6. Click Refresh matching findings. A table displays findings that match your query. For more information about querying findings, see Edit a findings query in the Google Cloud console.

7. Click Export, and then, under Continuous, click Pub/Sub.

8. Review your filter to ensure it's correct and, if necessary, return to the Findings page to modify it.

9. Under Continuous export name, enter a name for the export.

10. Under Continuous export description, enter a description for the export.

11. Under Export to, select a project for your export. You can't create a project on this page. To create a new project, see Creating a project.

12. Under Pub/Sub topic, select the topic where you want to export findings. To create a topic, do the following:

    1. Select Create a topic.
    2. Enter a Topic ID, and then select other options as needed:
       1. Learn about Creating and managing schemas.
       2. Learn about using customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) with Pub/Sub.
    3. Click Create Topic.

13. Click Save. You see a confirmation and are returned to the findings page.

14. Follow the guide to create a subscription for your Pub/Sub topic.

The Pub/Sub export configuration is complete. To publish notifications, a service account is created for you in the form of [e-mail]. This service account is automatically granted the roles/securitycenter.notificationServiceAgent role at the organization level. This service account role is required for notifications to function.

Test continuous exports

To confirm that an export is working, perform the following steps to toggle findings between active and inactive states.

1. Go to the Security Command Center Findings page in the Google Cloud console.

   Go to Findings

2. Click the Edit query button. The Query editor opens.

3. Edit the query so that both so that both active and inactive findings are displayed. The following query omits the state property to display all findings except those that are muted:

   NOT mute="MUTED"

4. If necessary, use the Query editor to re-enter filter variables that match the export filter you're testing.

5. Select a finding and then click Change Active State > Inactive.

6. Select the finding again that you marked inactive, click Change Active State > Active. A notification is sent for the newly active finding.

7. Go to the Pub/Sub page in the Google Cloud console.

   Go to Pub/Sub

8. In the list of topics, click the name of your topic.

9. Go to the Messages tab and select your subscription from the list to see the finding notification.

10. Optional: Click Pull to refresh messages.

Manage continuous exports

To view, edit, or delete exports, do the following:

1. Go to the Settings page in Security Command Center.

   Go to Settings

2. On the toolbar, click the project selector, and select your project, folder, or organization.

3. Optional: If data residency is enabled for Security Command Center, then change the data location as necessary.

   To change the data location, click the location selector in the action bar.

   

   A list of locations appears. Select the new location.

4. Select Continuous exports. You see a list of continuous exports for your project, folder, or organization.

On the Continuous exports page in Settings, you can create, view, edit, and delete continuous exports.

View related findings

To see findings that match an export filter, do the following:

1. On the Continuous exports page, next to the name of an export, select More , and then click View related filters.
2. The Findings page loads with findings that match the export filter.

Edit continuous exports

1. On the Continuous exports page, click the name of the export you want to view or modify, or click More .
2. Select Edit.
3. Enter a new description, change the project that exports are saved to, or enter a new Pub/Sub topic.
4. When done, click Save.

Note: You can't change the name of an export or modify an export filter. To use a different name or filter, you must create a new export.

Delete continuous exports

1. On the Continuous exports page, click the name of the export you want to delete.
2. Click Delete.
3. In the dialog, click Delete. The export is deleted.

What's next

Learn more about finding notifications.