Collect Cyber 2.0 IDS logs

Parser Version: 2.0

Supported in:

Google SecOps SIEM

This document explains how to ingest Cyber 2.0 IDS logs into Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

Cyber 2.0 IDSs provide enterprise-grade network security with integrated intrusion detection and prevention capabilities. The MX appliances use the Snort intrusion detection engine to monitor network traffic for malicious activity and generate IDS alerts based on threat intelligence from Cisco Talos. IDS alerts are generated in two formats: legacy ids-alerts and current security_event types, with priority levels ranging from 1 (high) to 4 (very low) based on Snort signature classifications.

Before you begin

Make sure that you have the following prerequisites:

A Google SecOps instance
Windows Server 2016 or later, or Linux host with systemd
Network connectivity between the Bindplane agent and Cyber 2.0 IDS
If running behind a proxy, ensure that firewall ports are open according to the Bindplane agent requirements
Administrative access to the Cisco Meraki Dashboard
Cyber 2.0 IDS with Advanced Security Edition licensing (required for IDS/IPS features)
Network connectivity from the Meraki MX appliance to the Bindplane agent host (UDP port 514 or custom port)

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).
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.json in the Bindplane collector directory (/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json on Linux or C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json on Windows), or update creds_file_path in config.yaml to 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 the 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.

Note: The customer ID is required for configuring the Bindplane agent exporter.

Install the Bindplane agent

Install the Bindplane agent on your Windows or Linux operating system according to the following instructions.

Windows installation

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as an administrator.

Run the following command:

msiexec /i "https://github.com/observIQ/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/observiq-otel-collector.msi&quot; /quiet

Wait for the installation to complete.
Verify the installation by running:
```
sc query observiq-otel-collector
```
The service status should be RUNNING.

Linux installation

Open a terminal with root or sudo privileges.

Run the following command:

sudo sh -c "$(curl -fsSlL https://github.com/observiq/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/install_unix.sh)" install_unix.sh

Wait for the installation to complete.
Verify the installation by running:
```
sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector
```
The service status should be active (running).

Additional installation resources

For additional installation options and troubleshooting, see Bindplane agent installation guide.

Configure Bindplane agent to ingest syslog and send logs to Google SecOps

Locate the configuration file

Linux:

sudo nano /opt/observiq-otel-collector/config.yaml

Windows:

notepad "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\config.yaml"

Edit the configuration file

Replace the entire contents of config.yaml with the following configuration:

receivers:
  udplog:
    listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"

exporters:
  chronicle/meraki_ids:
    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
    <creds_file_path>: 'CREDS_FILE_PA<TH'
   > customer_id: 'CUSTOMER_ID'
    endpoint: chronicle.googleapis.com
    log_type: CYBER_2_IDS
    raw_log_field: body
    ingestion_labels:
      vendor: cisco_meraki
      product: mx_security_appliance

service:
  pipelines:
    logs/meraki_to_chronicle:
      receivers:
        - udplog
      exporters:
        - chronicle/meraki_ids

Replace the following placeholders:
- Receiver configuration:
  - The receiver is configured to listen on all interfaces (0.0.0.0) on UDP port 514 (standard syslog port)
  - If port 514 is already in use or you need to run as non-root on Linux, change the port to 1514 or another available port
- Exporter configuration:
  - <CREDS_FILE_PATH>: Full path to the service account JSON key file (Option 1):
    - Linux: /opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json
    - Windows: C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json
  - <CUSTOMER_ID>: Customer ID copied from the previous step
  - location: Replace <LOCATION> with the region of your Google SecOps instance (for example, us, europe, or asia-southeast1). The exporter prefixes chronicle.googleapis.com with this value. See Regional Endpoints for the complete list.
  - project: Replace <PROJECT_NUMBER> with the project number from IAM & Admin > Settings.
  - endpoint: Keep set to chronicle.googleapis.com.
  - log_type: Set to CYBER_2_IDS for Cisco Meraki IDS alerts.
  - ingestion_labels: Optional labels to categorize logs in Google SecOps.

Example configuration

receivers:
  udplog:
    listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"

exporters:
  chronicle/meraki_ids:
    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
    creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
    customer_id: 'a1b2c3d4-e5f6-g7h8-i9j0-k1l2m3n4o5p6'
    endpoint: chronicle.googleapis.com
    log_type: CYBER_2_IDS
    raw_log_field: body
    ingestion_labels:
      vendor: cisco_meraki
      product: mx_security_appliance
      environment: production

service:
  pipelines:
    logs/meraki_to_chronicle:
      receivers:
        - udplog
      exporters:
        - chronicle/meraki_ids

Legacy ingestion API exporter

If you use the ingestion authentication file from Option 2, replace the exporters block with the following. Set creds_file_path to the path to the ingestion authentication file, and if your instance is outside the US, replace malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com with your regional endpoint (for example, europe-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com).

exporters:
  chronicle/meraki_ids:
    compression: gzip
    creds_file_path: &<#39;CREDS_FILE_>PATH'
    custom<er_id: '>;CUSTOMER_ID'
    endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
    log_type: CYBER_2_IDS
    raw_log_field: body
    ingestion_labels:
      vendor: cisco_meraki
      product: mx_security_appliance

Save the configuration file

After editing, save the file:

Linux: Press Ctrl+O, then Enter, then Ctrl+X
Windows: Click File > Save

Restart the Bindplane agent to apply the changes

To restart the Bindplane agent in Linux:

Run the following command:

sudo systemctl restart observiq-otel-collector

Verify the service is running:

sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector

Check the logs for errors:

sudo journalctl -u observiq-otel-collector -f

To restart the Bindplane agent in Windows:
1. Choose one of the following options:
  - Command Prompt or PowerShell as administrator:
```
net stop observiq-otel-collector && net start observiq-otel-collector
```
  - Services console:
    1. Press Win+R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
    2. Locate observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector.
    3. Right-click and select Restart.
2. Verify the service is running:
```
sc query observiq-otel-collector
```
3. Check the logs for errors:
```
type "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\log\collector.log"
```

Configure Cyber 2.0 IDS syslog forwarding

Sign in to the Cisco Meraki Dashboard at https://dashboard.meraki.com.
Select your organization from the organization dropdown menu at the top left.
Select the network containing your MX Security Appliance from the network dropdown menu.
Go to Network-wide > Configure > General.
Scroll down to the Reporting section.
Under Syslog servers, click Add a syslog server.
Configure the syslog server with the following settings:
- Server IP: Enter the IP address of the Bindplane agent host (for example, 192.168.1.100).
- Port: Enter 514 (or the custom port configured in the Bindplane agent if different).
- Roles: Select the following roles to forward IDS alerts:
  - Check IDS alerts (for legacy ids-alerts format events)
  - Check Security events (for current security_event format events including IDS alerts and AMP malware detections)
Click Save changes at the bottom of the page.
Verify that IDS/IPS is enabled on your MX Security Appliance:
1. Go to Security & SD-WAN > Configure > Threat protection.
2. Ensure Mode is set to Detection (IDS) or Prevention (IPS).
3. Select a ruleset: Connectivity, Balanced, or Security, based on your security requirements.
4. Click Save changes.
Generate test traffic to verify log forwarding:
1. Go to Security & SD-WAN > Monitor > Security center.
2. Verify that IDS alerts are being generated.
3. Check the Bindplane agent logs to confirm that events are being received and forwarded to Google SecOps.
Note: IDS alerts are only available with Advanced Security Edition licensing on Cyber 2.0 IDSs. Alert delivery typically occurs within 90 seconds of event detection.
Note: The IDS alerts role forwards legacy format events with the ids-alerts event type, while the Security events role forwards current format events with the security_event event type. Both formats contain IDS alert information and are supported by the CYBER_2_IDS parser. It is recommended to enable both roles to capture all IDS-related events.
Note: Cisco Meraki syslog uses UDP protocol by default. TCP and TLS protocols are not supported for syslog forwarding from Meraki devices.

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
time1, monthnum+day+time2, time	metadata.event_timestamp	Timestamp when the event occurred
app_version	about.resource.attribute.labels	List of key-value pairs for resource attributes
prod_event_type	metadata.product_event_type	Product-specific event type
Groups	principal.group.group_display_name	Display name of the group
app_name, app_version, hostname, principal_ip, md5_value	about	Information about the event
inter_host	intermediary.hostname	Hostname of the intermediary
description	metadata.description	Description of the event
Protocol	network.ip_protocol	IP protocol used in the network connection
Direction	network.direction	Direction of the network traffic
Source	principal.port	Port number of the principal
Destination	target.port	Port number of the target
SourceIP, principal_ip	principal.ip	IP address of the principal
SourceIP, principal_ip	principal.asset.ip	IP address of the principal's asset
DestinationIP	target.ip	IP address of the target
DestinationIP	target.asset.ip	IP address of the target's asset
HostName, hostname	principal.hostname	Hostname of the principal
HostName, hostname	principal.asset.hostname	Hostname of the principal's asset
ApplicationName	target.application	Application name of the target
UserName	principal.user.userid	User ID of the principal
FullPath	target.file.full_path	Full path of the file
Status	security_result.action	Action taken by the security system
pid	principal.process.pid	Process ID
src_application	principal.application	Application name of the principal
SubSeqNumber, FlowHandle, ClientZValue, MACAddress, State, IsXCast, FlowState, DLLMode	security_result.detection_fields	Detection fields from the security result
severity	security_result.severity	Severity of the security result
DB, NewApps, UniqueApps, Computers, Duration	additional.fields	Additional fields
	metadata.event_type	Type of event
	metadata.product_name	Product name
	metadata.vendor_name	Vendor name

Change Log

View the Change Log for this parser

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