Collect Quest File Access Audit logs

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest Quest File Access Audit logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

Quest Change Auditor (formerly Quest File Access Audit) is a file server and Active Directory auditing platform that monitors and reports on file access activities, permission changes, and administrative actions across Windows environments. Change Auditor provides built-in SIEM integration capabilities, including syslog forwarding via event subscriptions.

Before you begin

Make sure 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 the Quest Change Auditor coordinator server
  • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
  • Privileged access to the Quest Change Auditor client or coordinator server

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.
  1. Sign in to the Google Cloud console and select the Google Cloud project that is linked to your Google SecOps instance.
  2. Go to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.
  3. Click Create service account.
  4. 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).
  5. Click Create and continue.
  6. In the Grant this service account access to project section, click Select a role and select Chronicle Editor.
  7. Click Continue, and then click Done.
  8. Click the service account you created, and then go to the Keys tab.
  9. Click Add key > Create new key.
  10. Select JSON and click Create. The key file is downloaded to your computer.
  11. 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.
  12. 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)

  1. Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
  2. Go to SIEM Settings > Collection Agents.
  3. Download the ingestion authentication file.
  4. Save the file securely on the system where the Bindplane agent will be installed.

Get Google SecOps customer ID

  1. Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
  2. Go to SIEM Settings > Profile.

  3. Copy and save the Customer ID from the Organization Details section.

Install the Bindplane agent

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

Windows installation

  1. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as an administrator.

  2. Run the following command:

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

  3. Wait for the installation to complete.

  4. Verify the installation by running:

    sc query observiq-otel-collector

    The service should show as RUNNING.

Linux installation

  1. Open a terminal with root or sudo privileges.

  2. Run the following command:

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

  3. Wait for the installation to complete.

  4. Verify the installation by running:

    sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector

    The service should show as active (running).

Additional installation resources

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

Configure the Bindplane agent to ingest syslog and send 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/quest_file_audit:
    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: '<customer_id>'
    endpoint: chronicle.googleapis.com
    log_type: QUEST_FILE_AUDIT
    raw_log_field: body

service:
  pipelines:
    logs/quest_file_audit_to_chronicle:
      receivers:
        - udplog
      exporters:
        - chronicle/quest_file_audit

Configuration parameters

Replace the following placeholders:

  • Receiver configuration:

    • listen_address: IP address and port to listen on:
      • 0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces (recommended)
      • Port 514 is the standard syslog port (requires root on Linux; use 1514 for non-root)

  • 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 Google SecOps console
    • 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.

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/quest_file_audit:
    compression: gzip
    creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
    customer_id: '<customer_id>'
    endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
    log_type: QUEST_FILE_AUDIT
    raw_log_field: body

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

    1. Verify the service is running:

      sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector

    2. Check logs for errors:

      sudo journalctl -u observiq-otel-collector -f

  • To restart the Bindplane agent in Windows, 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.

      4. Verify the service is running:

        sc query observiq-otel-collector

      5. Check logs for errors:

        type "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\log\collector.log"

Configure Quest Change Auditor syslog forwarding

Option 1: Configure syslog forwarding using the Change Auditor client

  1. Open the Change Auditor client application.
  2. Navigate to Administration > Event Subscriptions.
  3. Click New and select Syslog as the subscription type.
  4. In the Syslog event subscription wizard, configure the following:
    • Host: Enter the IP address of the Bindplane agent host.
    • Port: Enter 514.
    • Message Format: Select CEF (Common Event Format) or LEEF (Log Event Extended Format).
    • Subsystems: Select the event subsystems to forward (for example, File System).
  5. Click Finish to create the subscription.

Option 2: Configure syslog forwarding using PowerShell

  1. Open PowerShell on the Change Auditor coordinator server and import the Change Auditor module.

  2. Create a syslog event subscription:

    $subsystems = Get-CAEventExportSubsystems | Where-Object { $_.Name -like "*File*" }
New-CASyslogEventSubscription -Host "<BINDPLANE_AGENT_IP>" -Port 514 -SyslogFormat "CEF" -Subsystems $subsystems

  3. Verify the subscription was created:

    Get-CASyslogEventSubscriptions

UDM mapping table

Log Field UDM Mapping Logic
Keywords, EventType, Task, ThreadID, Channel, Opcode additional.fields Additional information about the event
EventTime metadata.event_timestamp The timestamp when the event occurred
event_type metadata.event_type The type of event
EventReceivedTime metadata.ingested_timestamp The timestamp when the event was ingested
EventID metadata.product_event_type The event type as defined by the product
RecordNumber metadata.product_log_id The log ID assigned by the product
metadata.product_name The name of the product that generated the event
metadata.vendor_name The name of the vendor that generated the event
SourceModuleType observer.application The application used by the observer
SourceModuleName observer.resource.attribute.labels Labels associated with the observer resource
Domain principal.administrative_domain The administrative domain of the principal
SourceName principal.application The application used by the principal
Hostname principal.asset.hostname The hostname of the asset associated with the principal
ip_address principal.asset.ip The IP address of the asset associated with the principal
Hostname principal.hostname The hostname of the principal
ip_address principal.ip The IP address of the principal
ProcessID principal.process.pid The process ID
logonID principal.user.attribute.labels Labels associated with the user
AccountType principal.user.attribute.roles Roles associated with the user
AccountName principal.user.userid The user ID
UserID principal.user.windows_sid The Windows SID of the user
description security_result.description Description of the security result
SeverityValue security_result.severity Severity of the security result
Severity security_result.severity_details Details of the severity
Category security_result.summary Summary of the security result
file_path target.file.full_path The full path of the target file
file_path target.process.file.full_path The full path of the file associated with the target process

Change Log

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