# Alert Center

View notifications about potential threats/issues on your google workspace domain to take any necessary action.

**Sync Type: Incremental**

## Requirements

Before configuring this input, you need to set up a Google Cloud service account and grant it the necessary permissions in your Google Workspace environment. Follow these steps:

1. **Create a Google Cloud Project**:
    - Go to the [Google Cloud Console](https://console.cloud.google.com/).
    - Create a new project or select an existing one.

2. **Enable the Admin SDK API**:
    - In your project, go to "APIs & Services" > "Library".
    - Search for "Google Workspace Alert Center API" and enable it.

3. **Create a Service Account**:
    - Go to "IAM & Admin" > "Service Accounts".
    - Click "Create Service Account".
    - Give it a name and description.
    - For role, you don't need to grant any roles in Google Cloud.
    - Click "Create and Continue", then "Done".

4. **Generate a Key for the Service Account**:
    - In the service account list, click on your new service account.
    - Go to the "Keys" tab.
    - Click "Add Key" > "Create new key".
    - Choose JSON as the key type and click "Create".
    - Save the downloaded JSON file securely.

5. **Set up Domain-Wide Delegation**:
    - Go to your [Google Workspace Admin Console](https://admin.google.com/).
    - Navigate to Security -> Access and Data Control -> API Controls
    - In the "Domain-wide Delegation" section, click "Add new".
    - For "Client ID", enter the service account's Client ID (found in the JSON key file).
    - For scopes, enter: `https://www.googleapis.com/auth/apps.alerts`
    - Click "Authorize".

6. **Create and Configure an Admin Account**:
    - In the Google Workspace Admin Console, go to Users.
    - Click on "Add new user" to create a new account, or select an existing user.
    - Fill in the required information for the new user.
    - After creating the user, click on the user's name to access their details.
    - In the user details page, find the "Admin roles and privileges" section.
    - Click on "Assign roles".
    - Navigate to "Admin roles" under the Account section.
    - Click "Create new role".
    - Name the role (e.g., "Alert Center Reader").
    - Under privileges, expand the "Alert Center" section.
    - Check the box for "View" under "Alert Center".
    - Save the new role.
    - Return to the user's details and assign this new custom role.

## Configuration

The Google Workspace Alert Center Input is configured using the following settings:

#### Settings

| Setting | Type | Required | Description |
|---------|------|----------|-------------|
| Email | string | Yes | The email address of the Google Workspace admin to impersonate for API calls. |
| Backfill Start Time | string | No | The date to start fetching data from. If not specified, no past records will be fetched. |

#### Secrets

| Secret | Type | Required | Description |
|---------|------|----------|-------------|
| CredentialsJSON | string | Yes | Base64-encoded JSON credentials of the Google Cloud service account used for authentication. |

Remember to keep your service account key confidential and never commit it to version control systems.

## Functionality

This input component performs the following actions:

1. Authenticates with Google Workspace using a service account and admin impersonation.
2. Periodically fetches alert center logs.
3. Processes and publishes activity data to the pipeline for further handling.

## Best Practices

1. **Service Account**: Use a dedicated service account for this input.
2. **Least Privilege**: Grant only the necessary permissions to the service account.
3. **Admin Impersonation**: Use a dedicated admin account for impersonation, preferably one with limited permissions.
4. **Credential Security**: Keep the service account JSON key secure and never commit it to version control.
5. **Regular Audits**: Periodically review the service account's access and the impersonated admin's permissions.

## Limitations

- The input fetches a maximum of 1000 results per API call.
- Historical data availability depends on Google Workspace's retention policies.
- API quotas and limits apply as per Google Workspace Admin SDK guidelines.

## Troubleshooting

- For authentication errors, verify the service account credentials and Domain-Wide Delegation setup.
- If encountering "permission denied" errors, check the impersonated admin's privileges.
- No data being fetched could indicate a lack of admin activities or logging issues in your Google Workspace.

## Custom Schema Handling

If the source data doesn't align with any of the [OpenSecurityControlFramework (OSCF) schemas](https://schema.ocsf.io/), you can create a custom transformation using our JQ transform pipeline. For example:

```jq
{
  metadata: {
    schema_version: "1.0.0",
    custom_framework: "my_framework"
  },
  controls: .[]
}
```

For more information on JQ and how to write your own JQ transformations see the JQ docs [here](https://jqlang.github.io/jq/).

If you believe this data source should be included in the standard OSCF schema set, please reach out to our team at [support@monad.com](mailto:support@monad.com). We're always looking to expand our coverage of security control frameworks based on community needs.


## Sample Record

```json
{
  "customerId": "C0123456",
  "alertId": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "createTime": "2025-08-11T23:46:24.918351Z",
  "startTime": "2025-08-11T23:40:00.000000Z",
  "endTime": "2025-08-11T23:45:00.000000Z",
  "type": "User reported phishing",
  "source": "Gmail phishing",
  "data": {
    "@type": "google.apps.alertcenter.type.MailPhishing",
    "affectedUserEmail": "user@example.com",
    "description": "Description of the alert event."
  },
  "securityInvestigationToolLink": "https://admin.google.com/ac/sc/SecurityInvestigationTool?query=alertId:a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "deleted": false,
  "metadata": {
    "customerId": "C0123456",
    "alertId": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
    "status": "NOT_STARTED",
    "assignee": "admin@example.com",
    "updateTime": "2025-08-11T23:46:24.918351Z",
    "severity": "HIGH",
    "etag": "etag_example"
  },
  "updateTime": "2025-08-11T23:46:24.918351Z",
  "etag": "etag_example"
}
```