Collect BMC Helix Discovery logs
Parser Version: 2.0
This parser extracts fields from BMC Helix Discovery syslog messages using grok patterns. It focuses on login/logout events and status updates. It maps extracted fields like timestamps, usernames, source IPs, and descriptions to the UDM. Events are categorized based on the extracted product_event_type and log details.
Before you begin
- Ensure that you have a Google Security Operations instance.
- Ensure that you are using Windows 2016 or later, or a Linux host with systemd.
- If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open.
- Ensure that you have privileged access to the BeyondTrust instance.
Get Google SecOps credentials for the Bindplane agent
To authenticate the Bindplane agent to Google SecOps, choose one of the following methods:
- New deployments: Use the Chronicle API (Option 1).
- Legacy deployments: Continue using the ingestion authentication file (Option 2) until the Ingestion API is discontinued on July 20, 2027.
Option 1: Create a service account for the Chronicle API (recommended)
- Sign in to the Google Cloud console and select the Google Cloud project that is linked to your Google SecOps instance.
- Go to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.
- Click Create service account.
- Provide the following configuration details:
- Service account name: Enter a name for the account (for example,
bindplane-ingest). - Service account description: Enter a description (for example,
Bindplane agent log ingestion).
- Service account name: Enter a name for the account (for example,
- Click Create and continue.
- In the Grant this service account access to project section, click Select a role and select Chronicle Editor.
- Click Continue, and then click Done.
- Click the service account you created, and then go to the Keys tab.
- Click Add key > Create new key.
- Select JSON and click Create. The key file is downloaded to your computer.
- Save the key file as
ingestion-auth.jsonin the Bindplane collector directory (/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.jsonon Linux orC:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.jsonon Windows), or updatecreds_file_pathinconfig.yamlto match the path where you save it. - Go to IAM & Admin > Settings and copy the Project number. You'll need it for the exporter configuration.
Option 2: Download the ingestion authentication file (legacy)
- Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
- Go to SIEM Settings > Collection Agents.
- Download the ingestion authentication file.
- Save the file securely on the system where the Bindplane agent will be installed.
Get Google SecOps customer ID
- Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
- Go to SIEM Settings > Profile.
- Copy and save the Customer ID from the Organization Details section.
Install Bindplane Agent
- For Windows installation, run the following script:
msiexec /i "https://github.com/observIQ/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/observiq-otel-collector.msi" /quiet - For Linux installation, run the following script:
sudo sh -c "$(curl -fsSlL https://github.com/observiq/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/install_unix.sh)" install_unix.sh - Additional installation options can be found in this installation guide.
Configure Bindplane Agent to ingest Syslog and send to Google SecOps
- Access the machine where Bindplane is installed.
Edit the
config.yamlfile as follows:receivers: tcplog: # Replace the below port <54525> and IP <0.0.0.0> with your specific values listen_address: "0.0.0.0:54525" exporters: chronicle/chronicle_w_labels: protocol: https # Region of your instance, for example us, europe, asia-southeast1 location: <LOCATION> # Project number of the Google Cloud project linked to the instance project: '<PROJECT_NUMBER>' compression: gzip # Adjust the path to the credentials file you saved in Step 1 creds: '{ json file for creds }' # Replace <customer_id> below with your actual ID that you copied customer_id: <customer_id> endpoint: chronicle.googleapis.com # You can apply ingestion labels below as preferred ingestion_labels: log_type: SYSLOG namespace: BMC_HELIX_DISCOVERY raw_log_field: body service: pipelines: logs/source0__chronicle_w_labels-0: receivers: - tcplog exporters: - chronicle/chronicle_w_labels- Replace the port and IP address as required in your infrastructure.
- Replace
<LOCATION>with the region of your Google SecOps instance (for example,us,europe, orasia-southeast1). The exporter prefixeschronicle.googleapis.comwith this value. - Replace
<PROJECT_NUMBER>with the project number from IAM & Admin > Settings. - Replace
<customer_id>with the actual customer ID. - Update
{ json file for creds }to the path where the service account key file (Option 1) was saved.
Restart the Bindplane Agent to apply the changes:
sudo systemctl restart bindplane
Legacy ingestion API exporter
If you use the ingestion authentication file from Option 2, replace the
exportersblock with the following. Setcredsto the path to the ingestion authentication file, and if your instance is outside the US, replacemalachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.comwith your regional endpoint (for example,europe-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com).exporters: chronicle/chronicle_w_labels: compression: gzip # Adjust the path to the credentials file you saved in Step 1 creds: '{ json file for creds }' # Replace <customer_id> below with your actual ID that you copied customer_id: <customer_id> endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com # You can apply ingestion labels below as preferred ingestion_labels: log_type: SYSLOG namespace: BMC_HELIX_DISCOVERY raw_log_field: body
Export Syslog from BMC Helix Discovery
- Access the BMC Discovery instance as a root user.
- Edit the syslog configuration file:
etc/rsyslog.conf - Add the following entry at the top:
# Send everything to the remote syslog server. Replace the IP address with that of your syslog server:
# Send everything to the remote syslog server *.* @192.168.1.100Restart the syslog service on the appliance:
sudo /usr/bin/systemctl restart rsyslog.serviceTest the forwarding configuration.
Use the logger utility to send a syslog message:
logger this is a test of remote loggingVerify this has been logged:
su - Password: tail -n5 /var/log/messages Jan 17 11:42:10 localhost seclab: this is a test of remote loggingSign in to Google SecOps and check that the same messages appear.
UDM Mapping Table
| Log Field | UDM Mapping | Logic |
|---|---|---|
data |
metadata.description | The description of the event, extracted from the log message. |
data |
metadata.product_event_type | The raw event type, extracted from the log message. |
data |
principal.ip | The source IP address, extracted from the description field in the log message. |
data |
security_result.summary | A summary of the event, extracted from the log message. |
data |
target.user.userid | The username, extracted from the log message. An empty object is created by the parser. Copied from the top-level timestamp field in the raw log. Determined by the parser based on product_event_type and desc fields. If product_event_type is "logon" or desc contains "logged on", it's set to "USER_LOGIN". If product_event_type is "logoff" or desc contains "logged off", it's set to "USER_LOGOUT". Otherwise, if src_ip is present, it's set to "STATUS_UPDATE". Defaults to "GENERIC_EVENT". Hardcoded to "BMC_HELIX_DISCOVERY". Hardcoded to "BMC_HELIX_DISCOVERY". Hardcoded to "BMC_HELIX_DISCOVERY". |
Change Log
View the Change Log for this parser
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