This is part V of a series exploring the concepts and potential of Federated Security. See more.

Federated Security is not a set of features, it’s a shift in how we think about turning more of the data we already have into a strategic advantage across security operations. It starts with a simple idea: instead of moving massive volumes of data around, bring the search, analytics, and detections directly to the data, wherever it lives.

This foundational change solves longstanding issues in security operations:

  • Security data is everywhere, but it’s rarely accessible when you need it.
  • Detection engineering and threat response are slow and full of friction, hampered by fragmented tooling and data silos.
  • The promise of AI and LLMs remains out of reach, largely due to limited access to data and inconsistent data formats.

Federated Security changes that. It’s a practical approach that provides flexibility, speed, and choice in how security teams access, analyze, and act on data.

Federated Security Explained

Let’s break down three core capabilities:

  • Federated Search: Analysts query distributed data, across tools, cloud accounts, and storage locations, in real time, with results normalized and enriched at search time. No pipeline delays, no blind spots.
  • Federated Analytics: Analytics run directly on live data, eliminating the need for bulk movement or duplication. This reduces cost, maximizes capabilities in the native platforms, and increases agility.
  • Federated Detections: Teams author and run detection logic across multiple systems without having to recreate or normalize every data stream. Detection engineering becomes faster and more maintainable.

Real Use Case: Threat Hunting and Investigations

One of the immediate value drivers is in how teams conduct investigations and threat hunts, both of which are drastically improved when teams have access to broader security relevant data. Whether you’re chasing a live incident or testing a new hypothesis, the ability to search across EDR, cloud, identity, and SaaS data without leaving your console saves hours, if not days.

  • Time saved: Analysts no longer spend time pivoting between tools or manually correlating data.
  • Visibility gained: Data that was previously stranded, due to license limits, inaccessibility, or pipeline backlogs, can now be put to work.
  • Cost avoided: There’s no need to ingest and store petabytes of data in expensive SIEM platforms just to make it searchable.

The outcome? Better answers, faster actions, and lower operational overhead.

Supercharge Splunk

Many of our customers run Splunk. They should. Splunk is powerful. But it’s not feasible to ingest everything. That’s where the Query Splunk App comes in.

We don’t replace Splunk. We extend it.

With our Splunk app, your team can stay in their Splunk workflows while instantly expanding visibility to distributed data in Amazon, CrowdStrike, Microsoft, Google, and many other locations, without ingesting that data into Splunk and without increasing license costs. It’s a pragmatic way to do more with the platform you’ve already invested in.

The Foundation for a Modern Security Architecture

Federated Security doesn’t just improve today’s workflows, it unlocks new possibilities for the future:

  • Decoupled Data Architectures: Keep data in the platforms and places that make sense. No forced centralization.
  • Security Data Ops Enablement: Empower teams to access, normalize, and analyze data without becoming data engineers.
  • Future-Proofing for AI: Build infrastructure that supports LLM and agent-based workflows without re-architecting from scratch.

LLMs, Agents, and the Path to AI-Driven Security

The most exciting part? Federated Security lays the groundwork for AI-powered operations.

With initiatives like the Model Context Protocol (MCP), LLMs can now interact with your live data in context-aware, task-specific ways. But that only works if the data is available, accessible, and structured in a usable format.

The Query approach to federated security makes that possible. Whether it’s an LLM Copilot assisting an analyst or an autonomous agent performing triage, access to trusted, real-time security data is essential, and Federated Security delivers exactly that.

Try It Today

The best part? Query doesn’t require a major deployment, data migration, or heavy integration project. It’s fast to deploy, operates with read-only access, and starts delivering value on day one.

If you’re ready to move beyond centralization and experience the benefits of Federated Security in your environment, let’s talk.

You’ve already made the investments. It’s your data. Query helps you use it better.