Collect Automation Anywhere logs

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest Automation Anywhere logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

Automation Anywhere is a robotic process automation platform that generates audit logs for user activities, bot deployments, configuration changes, and system events through its Control Room.

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 Automation Anywhere Control Room
  • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
  • Privileged access to Automation Anywhere

Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file

  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 Bindplane agent installation guide.

Configure Bindplane agent to ingest syslog and send to Google SecOps

Locate the configuration file

  • Linux:

    sudo nano /etc/bindplane-agent/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/automation_anywhere:
            compression: gzip
            creds_file_path: '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json'
            customer_id: '<customer_id>'
            endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
            log_type: AUTOMATION_ANYWHERE
            raw_log_field: body
    
    service:
        pipelines:
            logs/automation_anywhere_to_chronicle:
                receivers:
                    - udplog
                exporters:
                    - chronicle/automation_anywhere
    

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 ingestion authentication file:
      • Linux: /etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json
      • Windows: C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json
    • customer_id: Customer ID copied from the Google SecOps console
    • endpoint: Regional endpoint URL:
      • US: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      • Europe: europe-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      • Asia: asia-southeast1-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      • See Regional Endpoints for complete list

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 syslog on Automation Anywhere

  1. Sign in to the Automation Anywhere Control Room web UI.
  2. Go to Administration > Settings > Network settings.
  3. Click + (plus).
  4. Provide the syslog configuration details:
    • Syslog server: Enter the Bindplane agent IP address.
    • Port: Enter the Bindplane port number (for example, 514 for UDP).
    • Protocol: Select UDP.
    • (Optional) Use Secure Connection: This configuration is available only for TCP communication.
  5. Click Save changes.

UDM mapping table

Log Field UDM Mapping Logic
ACTIVITY AT metadata.event_timestamp The timestamp of the event is taken from the ACTIVITY AT field in the raw log.
ACTION TAKEN BY target.user.userid The user who performed the action is taken from the ACTION TAKEN BY field in the raw log.
ACTION TYPE security_result.summary A summary of the action taken is taken from the ACTION TYPE field in the raw log.
ITEM NAME target.file.full_path The name of the file or item involved in the event is taken from the ITEM NAME field in the raw log.
REQUEST ID target.user.product_object_id A unique identifier for the request is taken from the REQUEST ID field in the raw log.
SOURCE metadata.product_event_type The source of the event is taken from the SOURCE field in the raw log.
SOURCE DEVICE target.hostname | target.ip If the SOURCE DEVICE field contains a valid IP address, it is mapped to target.ip. Otherwise, it is mapped to target.hostname.
STATUS security_result.action The security action (ALLOW, BLOCK, UNKNOWN_ACTION) is determined based on the STATUS field in the raw log: Successful maps to ALLOW, Unsuccessful maps to BLOCK, Unknown maps to UNKNOWN_ACTION.
- metadata.event_type The event type is determined based on the ACTION TYPE field in the raw log using a series of regular expression matches. If no match is found, it defaults to GENERIC_EVENT.
- metadata.log_type Set to AUTOMATION_ANYWHERE.
- metadata.product_name Set to AUTOMATION_ANYWHERE.
- metadata.vendor_name Set to AUTOMATION_ANYWHERE.
- extensions.auth An empty object is added for USER_LOGIN events.

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