Collect BMC AMI Defender logs

Parser Version: 1.0

Supported in:

Google SecOps SIEM

This document explains how to ingest BMC AMI Defender logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane agent.

BMC AMI Datastream for z/OS is a mainframe agent program that monitors z/OS system activity and collects, processes, and delivers System Management Facility (SMF) records to distributed SIEM systems in real time. The agent reformats SMF records from RACF, ACF2, Top Secret, TCP/IP, CICS, IMS, and other z/OS system and application events as RFC 3164 compliant syslog messages and transmits them via UDP, TCP, or TLS protocols.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

• A Google SecOps instance
• Windows Server 2016 or later, or Linux host with systemd for the Bindplane agent
• Network connectivity between the Bindplane agent host and the z/OS LPAR running BMC AMI Datastream
• If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
• BMC AMI Datastream for z/OS version 6.1 or later installed and running on the z/OS LPAR
• Access to edit parameter files in the amihlq.PARM data set on z/OS (typically requires TSO/ISPF access or batch job submission authority)
• Authority to modify BMC AMI Datastream configuration (typically requires RACF READ access to the parameter data sets)

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)

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.

Note: The JSON key is a credential. Restrict access to the file on the Bindplane host and rotate the key according to your organization's policy.

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.

Note: This file authenticates the agent to the legacy Ingestion API (malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com), which Google has scheduled for end of life on July 20, 2027. Plan to move to Option 1 before that date.

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.

   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

  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.

Note: The Chronicle API exporter configuration requires Bindplane collector v1.106.0 or later. The previous commands install the latest release. If you're updating an existing installation, upgrade the collector before changing the configuration.

Configure 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

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

   receivers:
     tcplog:
       listen_address: "0.0.0.0:1514"
   
   exporters:
     chronicle/bmc_datastream:
       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: 'your-customer-id-here'
       endpoint: chronicle.googleapis.com
       log_type: BMC_AMI_DEFENDER
       raw_log_field: body
   
   service:
     pipelines:
       logs/datastream_to_chronicle:
         receivers:
           - tcplog
         exporters:
           - chronicle/bmc_datastream
   

2. Replace the following placeholders:

   • Receiver configuration:

     listen_address: IP address and port to listen on:

     • 0.0.0.0:1514 to listen on all interfaces on port 1514 (recommended for Linux non-root)
     • 0.0.0.0:514 to listen on all interfaces on standard syslog port (requires root on Linux)
     • Specific IP address to listen on one interface

   • 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: Your customer ID. For details, see Get Google SecOps customer ID.

     • 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: BMC_AMI_DEFENDER

Example configuration for UDP syslog

• If you prefer UDP transport (lower latency, fire-and-forget):

  receivers:
    udplog:
      listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"
  
  exporters:
    chronicle/bmc_datastream:
      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: BMC_AMI_DEFENDER
      raw_log_field: body
  
  service:
    pipelines:
      logs/datastream_to_chronicle:
        receivers:
          - udplog
        exporters:
          - chronicle/bmc_datastream
  

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/bmc_datastream:
      compression: gzip
      creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
      customer_id: 'your-customer-id-here'
      endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      log_type: BMC_AMI_DEFENDER
      raw_log_field: body
  

Note: This exporter will stop working when the Ingestion API is discontinued on July 20, 2027.

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:

  1. Run the following command:

     sudo systemctl restart observiq-otel-collector
     

  2. Verify the service is running:

     sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector
     

  3. Check 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 logs for errors:

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

Configure BMC AMI Defender syslog forwarding

Edit the parameter file using TSO/ISPF

1. Sign in to TSO/ISPF on the z/OS LPAR where BMC AMI Datastream is installed.
2. From the ISPF Primary Option Menu, enter 2 to select EDIT.

3. On the Edit - Entry Panel, enter the following:

   • ISPF Library: Enter the parameter data set name in the format 'amihlq.PARM' where amihlq is the high-level qualifier chosen during installation (for example, 'PROD.CZAGENT.PARM').
   • Member: Enter $$$CONFG.

4. Press Enter to open the member for editing.

Configure the SIEM type

1. In the $$$CONFG member, locate the section labeled Switches for setting the SIEM type.

2. Uncomment one SIEM type by removing the leading semicolon from the appropriate line:

   • For standard syslog format, uncomment: SWITCH ON(RFC 3164)
   • For Common Event Format, uncomment: SWITCH ON(CEF)
   • For JSON format, uncomment: SWITCH ON(JSON)
   • For IBM QRadar LEEF format, uncomment: SWITCH ON(LEEF)
   • For Splunk format, uncomment: SWITCH ON(Splunk)
   Note: Enable only one SIEM type. For Google SecOps, RFC 3164, CEF, or JSON formats are recommended.

3. Press F3 to save and exit the member.

Configure the syslog server

1. From the Edit - Entry Panel, enter the following:

   • ISPF Library: Enter 'amihlq.PARM' (same as before).
   • Member: Enter $$$SERVR.

2. Press Enter to open the member for editing.

3. Locate the section corresponding to your selected SIEM type. For example:

   • For RFC 3164: Locate the section labeled ; RFC 3164
   • For CEF: Locate the section labeled ; CEF - TRANS(TCP) Recommended
   • For JSON: Locate the section labeled ; JSON - TRANS(TCP) Recommended

4. Uncomment the SERVER statement by removing the leading semicolon.

5. Edit the SERVER statement with the following values:

   • Replace ip.addr.example with the IP address of the Bindplane agent host (for example, 192.168.1.100).

   • If using TCP (recommended), the statement should look like:

     SERVER 192.168.1.100:1514 TRANS(TCP) MAXMSG(2000)
     

   • If using UDP, the statement should look like:

     SERVER 192.168.1.100:514 TRANS(UDP) MAXMSG(2000)
     

     Note: The port number must match the port configured in the Bindplane agent config.yaml file. Use port 1514 for TCP or 514 for UDP.

6. If you selected CEF, JSON, or Splunk format and are using TCP transport, locate the OPTIONS statement section and uncomment the FRAMING parameter:

   OPTIONS FRAMING(OCTETCOUNT)
   

7. Press F3 to save and exit the member.

Refresh the BMC AMI Datastream configuration

1. From the ISPF Primary Option Menu, enter 6 to select COMMAND.

2. On the TSO Command Processor screen, enter the following MVS console command:

   F czagentname,PARMS
   

   Replace czagentname with the name of the BMC AMI Datastream started task (typically CZAGENT or the instance name configured during installation).

3. Press Enter to execute the command.

4. Verify the configuration was refreshed by checking the system log for message CZA0001I indicating the parameter file was successfully processed.

Verify syslog transmission

1. From the ISPF Primary Option Menu, enter 6 to select COMMAND.

2. Enter the following command to display BMC AMI Datastream statistics:

   F czagentname,STATS
   

3. Press Enter to execute the command.

4. Check the system log for message CZA0350I showing the number of messages sent to the syslog server.

5. Verify the Bindplane agent is receiving messages by checking the Bindplane agent logs:

   • Linux: sudo journalctl -u observiq-otel-collector -f
   • Windows: Check C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\log\collector.log

Alternative: Edit parameter file using batch job

If you do not have TSO/ISPF access, you can edit the parameter files using a batch job:

1. Create a batch job with the following JCL:

   //EDITPARM JOB (ACCT),'EDIT DATASTREAM PARMS',
   //         CLASS=A,MSGCLASS=X,NOTIFY=&SYSUID
   //STEP1    EXEC PGM=IEBGENER
   //SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*
   //SYSIN    DD DUMMY
   //SYSUT1   DD *
   SWITCH ON(RFC 3164)
   /*
   //SYSUT2   DD DSN=amihlq.PARM($$$CONFG),DISP=SHR
   //STEP2    EXEC PGM=IEBGENER
   //SYSPRINT DD SYSOUT=*
   //SYSIN    DD DUMMY
   //SYSUT1   DD *
   SERVER 192.168.1.100:1514 TRANS(TCP) MAXMSG(2000)
   /*
   //SYSUT2   DD DSN=amihlq.PARM($$$SERVR),DISP=SHR
   

2. Replace amihlq with the high-level qualifier for your BMC AMI Datastream installation.

3. Replace 192.168.1.100:1514 with the IP address and port of your Bindplane agent host.

4. Submit the job and verify successful completion (return code 0).

5. Issue the MODIFY command to refresh the configuration as described in the previous section.

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
aceeadsp	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
aceeaudt	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
aceeflg1	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
aceelogu	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
aceeoper	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
aceepriv	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
aceeracf	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
aceeroa	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
aceespec	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
additional.fields	additional.fields	Additional information about the event
auth	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
auth_audit	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
auth_bypass	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
auth_exit	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
auth_normal	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
auth_oper	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
auth_soft	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
auth_special	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
auth_trusted	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
authinfo	security_result.description	Description of the security result
event	metadata.product_event_type	Product-specific event type
event_type	metadata.event_type	Type of event (e.g., USER_LOGIN, NETWORK_CONNECTION)
eventdesc	metadata.description	Description of the event
group	additional.fields	Additional information about the event
hostname	principal.hostname, principal.asset.hostname	Hostname of the principal, Hostname of the asset
jobid	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
jobnm	additional.fields	Additional information about the event
jsauth	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
name	principal.user.user_display_name	Display name of the user
pgm	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
privstatd	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
reas_always	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
reas_audit	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
reas_cmdviol	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
reas_globalaudit	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
reas_setropts	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
reas_special	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
reas_user	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
reas_verify	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
rtype	additional.fields	Additional information about the event
saf	additional.fields	Additional information about the event
safd	additional.fields	Additional information about the event
security_result.detection_fields	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
severity	security_result.severity, security_result.severity_details	Severity of the security result, Detailed severity information
sid	additional.fields	Additional information about the event
timestamp	metadata.event_timestamp	Timestamp when the event occurred
tokflg1	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
tokflg3	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
tokpriv	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
toksus	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
tokudus	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
userid	principal.user.userid	User ID
violation	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
user_warning	security_result.detection_fields	Fields that were used to determine the security result
worktyped	additional.fields	Additional information about the event
	metadata.product_name	Name of the product
	metadata.vendor_name	Vendor/company name

Change Log

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