CrowdStrike expands Google Cloud security & wins award

CrowdStrike has expanded its Cloud Detection and Response service to Google Cloud and has been named Google Cloud Security Partner of the Year for Infrastructure Protection for a second straight year.

The expansion brings CrowdStrike's Falcon platform to regional Google Cloud infrastructure, allowing customers to process and act on security data within specific regions to meet operational and data sovereignty requirements.

The announcement comes as security vendors and cloud providers respond to a rise in cloud-based attacks and the growing use of artificial intelligence tools by attackers. CrowdStrike's Cloud Detection and Response offering is designed to detect malicious activity as it happens across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, rather than relying on batch log processing that can delay alerts.

Under the expanded arrangement, organisations using Google Cloud will be able to run CrowdStrike's cloud detection and response tools within that environment. The service is part of the broader Falcon Cloud Security offering and is intended to give security teams a single view across cloud assets, identities and active threats.

Regional deployment is a key part of the update. Many large organisations, particularly in regulated sectors, must keep certain types of data within national or regional boundaries. By making Falcon available on regional Google Cloud infrastructure, CrowdStrike is aiming to meet those requirements while offering a common security platform across multiple cloud environments.

Daniel Bernard, Chief Business Officer at CrowdStrike, linked the expansion to the speed of modern attacks.

"Every second counts when adversaries can move from access to exfiltration in minutes," said Daniel Bernard, Chief Business Officer, CrowdStrike. "CrowdStrike's cloud security leadership is built on our ability to operate at runtime at scale. Extending CrowdStrike CDR to one of the world's largest cloud platforms gives more organisations the speed and precision to stop cloud attacks the moment they begin."

Google Cloud presented the development as part of a broader partner-led approach to security. The company relies on security vendors to help customers combine native cloud controls with third-party products.

"Google Cloud is committed to an open security ecosystem, enabling greater choice and flexibility for our customers," said Vineet Bhan, Director of Security and Identity Partnerships, Google Cloud. "By expanding our collaboration with CrowdStrike, customers have access to the best solutions for their unique needs."

Cloud focus

Cloud Detection and Response has become a more closely watched part of the security market as companies spread workloads across several public clouds and need faster investigation of attacks that can move quickly between systems. Traditional cloud security monitoring has often depended on collecting logs and analysing them after the fact, an approach that can leave a gap between the start of an incident and detection.

CrowdStrike said its system uses event streaming technology to analyse cloud activity in real time and pairs that with automated response actions. It says this can identify adversary activity by correlating signals from cloud assets and identities as attacks unfold.

That emphasis on runtime detection reflects a wider shift in cloud security away from tools focused mainly on configuration and posture management. While those products remain important for identifying misconfigurations, security teams are placing greater emphasis on detecting live attacker behaviour inside cloud environments.

Allianz Group Deputy CISO Alexander Pabst said the combination of Google Cloud's infrastructure and CrowdStrike's detection tools addressed both operational and compliance needs for multinational organisations.

"Cloud attacks are evolving rapidly, and stopping them requires real-time visibility and the ability to act instantly," said Alexander Pabst, Deputy CISO, Allianz Group. "Combining CrowdStrike's real-time, multi-cloud detection and response with Google Cloud's global infrastructure is a critical step toward helping organisations keep pace with modern threats, while meeting the scale and data sovereignty requirements of global operations."

Partner award

Alongside the product expansion, Google Cloud named CrowdStrike its 2026 Security Partner of the Year for Infrastructure Protection. It was the second consecutive year CrowdStrike received the recognition.

CrowdStrike was also named a Google Agent Cloud Ecosystem launch partner, reflecting a joint focus on securing AI-related workloads and applications. As organisations test and deploy agent-based AI systems, cloud providers and security vendors are working out how those environments should be monitored and controlled.

Bernard said the award and the Agent Cloud role reflected demand for security that spans cloud systems, identity infrastructure and AI-related attack surfaces.

"Google Cloud's recognition of CrowdStrike as Partner of the Year for Infrastructure Protection, and as a two-time Google Cloud Security Partner of the Year, reinforces CrowdStrike's role as the platform of choice for securing cloud infrastructure in the AI era," said Bernard. "As organisations operationalise agentic AI, they need real-time protection, complete visibility, and the ability to stop breaches across cloud, identity, and AI attack surfaces - that's exactly what CrowdStrike delivers."

Google Cloud said the award recognised the contribution of partners to customer projects and outcomes over the past year.

"The Google Cloud Partner Awards honour the strategic innovation and measurable value our partners bring to customers," said Kevin Ichhpurani, President, Global Partner Ecosystem and Channels, Google Cloud. "We are proud to name CrowdStrike a 2026 Google Cloud Partner Award winner, celebrating their role in driving customer success over the last year."