Collect Cisco Secure ACS logs

Parser Version: 3.0

Supported in:

Google SecOps SIEM

This document explains how to ingest Cisco Secure ACS logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane.

The parser extracts fields from Cisco Secure ACS syslog and key-value formatted logs. It uses grok and/or kv to parse the log message and then maps these values to the Unified Data Model (UDM). It also sets default metadata values for the event source and type.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

• A Google SecOps instance
• Windows Server 2016 or later, or Linux host with systemd
• If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
• Privileged access to the Cisco Secure ACS web interface

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

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

  receivers:
    udplog:
      listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"
  
  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
      creds_file_path: '/path/to/ingestion-authentication-file.json'
      customer_id: 'YOUR_CUSTOMER_ID'
      endpoint: chronicle.googleapis.com
      log_type: 'CISCO_ACS'
      raw_log_field: body
      ingestion_labels:
  
  service:
    pipelines:
      logs/source0__chronicle_w_labels-0:
        receivers:
          - udplog
        exporters:
          - chronicle/chronicle_w_labels
  

Configuration parameters

• Replace the following placeholders:

  • Receiver configuration:

    • udplog: Use udplog for UDP syslog or tcplog for TCP syslog
    • 0.0.0.0: IP address to listen on (0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces)
    • 514: Port number to listen on (standard syslog 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
    • YOUR_CUSTOMER_ID: Customer ID from the Get customer ID section
    • 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: Log type exactly as it appears in Chronicle (CISCO_ACS)

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/chronicle_w_labels:
      compression: gzip
      creds_file_path: '/path/to/ingestion-authentication-file.json'
      customer_id: 'YOUR_CUSTOMER_ID'
      endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      log_type: 'CISCO_ACS'
      raw_log_field: body
      ingestion_labels:
  

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, 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 forwarding on Cisco Secure ACS

1. Sign in to the Cisco Secure ACS web interface.
2. Go to System Administration > Configuration > Log Configuration > Remote Log Targets.
3. Click Create to add a new remote log target.
4. Provide the following configuration details:
   • Name: Enter a descriptive name (for example, Google-SecOps-Bindplane).
   • Description: Enter a description (optional).
   • IP Address: Enter the IP address of the Bindplane agent host.
   • Port: Enter 514.
   • Facility Code: Select LOCAL6 (or your preferred facility).
5. Click Submit.
6. Go to System Administration > Configuration > Log Configuration > Logging Categories.
7. Select the log categories to forward:
   • AAA Audit
   • AAA Diagnostics
   • Administrative and Operational Audit
   • System Diagnostics
8. For each selected category, click the category name.
9. Go to the Remote Log Target tab.
10. Move the created remote log target (for example, Google-SecOps-Bindplane) from Available to Selected.
11. Click Save.
12. Verify syslog messages are being sent by checking the Bindplane agent logs.

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
Acct-Authentic	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Acct-Authentic field.
Acct-Delay-Time	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Acct-Delay-Time field.
Acct-Input-Octets	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Acct-Input-Octets field.
Acct-Input-Packets	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Acct-Input-Packets field.
Acct-Output-Octets	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Acct-Output-Octets field.
Acct-Output-Packets	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Acct-Output-Packets field.
Acct-Session-Id	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Acct-Session-Id field.
Acct-Session-Time	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Acct-Session-Time field.
Acct-Status-Type	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Acct-Status-Type field.
Acct-Terminate-Cause	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Acct-Terminate-Cause field.
ACSVersion	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the ACSVersion field.
AD-Domain	principal.group.group_display_name	Value is taken from the AD-Domain field.
AD-IP-Address	principal.ip	Value is taken from the AD-IP-Address field.
Called-Station-ID	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Called-Station-ID field.
Calling-Station-ID	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Calling-Station-ID field.
Class	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Class field.
CmdSet	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
ConfigVersionId	additional.fields[].value.number_value	Value is taken from the ConfigVersionId field and converted to a float.
DestinationIPAddress	target.ip, intermediary.ip	Value is taken from the DestinationIPAddress field. intermediary.ip is derived from Device IP Address.
DestinationPort	target.port	Value is taken from the DestinationPort field and converted to an integer.
Device IP Address	intermediary.ip	Value is taken from the Device IP Address field.
Device Port	intermediary.port	Value is taken from the Device Port field and converted to an integer.
DetailedInfo	security_result.summary, security_result.description, security_result.action	If DetailedInfo is "Authentication succeed", security_result.summary is "successful login occurred" and security_result.action is ALLOW. If DetailedInfo contains "Invalid username or password specified", security_result.summary is "failed login occurred" and security_result.action is BLOCK. security_result.description is derived from log_header.
Framed-IP-Address	principal.ip	Value is taken from the Framed-IP-Address field.
Framed-Protocol	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Framed-Protocol field.
NAS-IP-Address	target.ip	Value is taken from the NAS-IP-Address field.
NAS-Port	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the NAS-Port field.
NAS-Port-Id	target.port	Value is taken from the NAS-Port-Id field and converted to an integer.
NAS-Port-Type	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the NAS-Port-Type field.
NetworkDeviceName	target.hostname	Value is taken from the NetworkDeviceName field.
Protocol	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Protocol field.
RadiusPacketType	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
Remote-Address	principal.ip, target.ip	Value is taken from the Remote-Address field and parsed as an IP address. It is mapped to principal.ip for authentication events and target.ip for accounting and diagnostic events.
RequestLatency	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the RequestLatency field.
Response	principal.user.userid	If Response contains "User-Name", the username is extracted and mapped to principal.user.userid.
SelectedAccessService	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the SelectedAccessService field.
SelectedAuthenticationIdentityStores	security_result.detection_fields[].value	Value is taken from the SelectedAuthenticationIdentityStores field.
SelectedAuthorizationProfiles	security_result.detection_fields[].value	Value is taken from the SelectedAuthorizationProfiles field.
Service-Type	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Service-Type field.
Tunnel-Client-Endpoint	additional.fields[].value.string_value	Value is taken from the Tunnel-Client-Endpoint field and parsed as an IP address.
User	target.user.userid	Value is taken from the User field.
UserName	target.user.userid, principal.mac	If UserName is a MAC address, it is parsed and mapped to principal.mac. Otherwise, it is mapped to target.user.userid.
ac-user-agent	network.http.user_agent	Value is taken from the ac-user-agent field.
cat	metadata.description	Value is taken from the cat field.
device-mac	principal.mac	Value is taken from the device-mac field, colons are added, and the value is converted to lowercase. If device-mac is "00", it is replaced with "00:00:00:00:00:00".
device-platform	principal.asset.platform_software.platform	If device-platform is "win", the value "WINDOWS" is assigned to principal.asset.platform_software.platform.
device-platform-version	principal.asset.platform_software.platform_version	Value is taken from the device-platform-version field.
device-public-mac	principal.mac	Value is taken from the device-public-mac field, hyphens are replaced with colons, and the value is converted to lowercase.
device-type	principal.asset.hardware.model	Value is taken from the device-type field.
device-uid	principal.asset.asset_id	Value is taken from the device-uid field and prepended with "ASSET ID: ".
device-uid-global	principal.asset.product_object_id	Value is taken from the device-uid-global field.
hostname	principal.hostname	Value is taken from the hostname field.
ip:source-ip	principal.ip	Value is taken from the ip:source-ip field.
kv.ADDomain	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.Airespace-Wlan-Id	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.AuthenticationIdentityStore	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.AVPair	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.CVPN3000/ASA/PIX7.x-DAP-Tunnel-Group-Name	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.CVPN3000/ASA/PIX7.x-Group-Based-Address-Pools	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.ExternalGroups	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.FailureReason	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.IdentityAccessRestricted	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.IdentityGroup	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.NAS-Identifier	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.SelectedShellProfile	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.ServiceSelectionMatchedRule	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.State	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.Step	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.Tunnel-Medium-Type	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.Tunnel-Private-Group-ID	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.Tunnel-Type	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.UseCase	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.UserIdentityGroup	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.VendorSpecific	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.attribute-131	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.attribute-89	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.cisco-av-pair	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
kv.cisco-av-pair:CiscoSecure-Group-Id	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
leef_version	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
log_header	metadata.description	Value is taken from the log_header field.
log_id	metadata.product_log_id	Value is taken from the log_id field.
log_type	metadata.product_event_type	Value is taken from the log_type field.
message_severity	(not mapped)	Not mapped to the IDM object.
product	metadata.product_name	Value is taken from the product field.
product_version	metadata.product_version	Value is taken from the product_version field.
server_host	target.hostname	Value is taken from the server_host field.
timestamp	metadata.event_timestamp	Value is taken from the timestamp field and the timezone field (after removing the colon). The combined value is parsed as a timestamp.
url	network.dns.questions[].name	Value is taken from the url field.
vendor	metadata.vendor_name	Value is taken from the vendor field. Set to "GENERIC_EVENT" initially, then potentially overwritten based on the log_type and parsed fields. Can be "USER_LOGIN", "USER_UNCATEGORIZED", "NETWORK_DNS", "NETWORK_CONNECTION", "STATUS_UPDATE", or "STATUS_UNCATEGORIZED". Set to "Cisco" initially, then potentially overwritten by the vendor field. Set to "ACS" initially, then potentially overwritten by the product field. Set to "CISCO_ACS". Set to "USERNAME_PASSWORD". Set to "TACACS". Set to "UDP" for RADIUS accounting and diagnostic events. Set to "DNS" for DNS events. Derived from the security_action field, which is set based on whether the login was successful or not. Set to "successful login occurred" for successful logins and "failed login occurred" for failed logins. May also be set to "passed" for certain identity store diagnostic events. Set to "LOW" for failed login attempts. Constructed by prepending "ASSET ID: " to the device-uid field.
hostname	event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.hostname and event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.asset.hostname	Mapped from changelog
hostname	event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.ip and event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
kv.NAS-IP-Address	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.ip and event.idm.read_only_udm.target.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
kv.source_ip	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
kv.NetworkDeviceName	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.asset.hostname	Mapped from changelog
kv.Remote-Address	event.idm.read_only_udm.target.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
kv.DeviceIPAddress	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
kv.AD-IP-Address	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
kv.Framed-IP-Address	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
kv.Caller-Id	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.ip and event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.ip	Mapped from changelog
kv.Group-Name	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.group.group_display_name	Mapped from changelog
kv.Session ID	event.idm.read_only_udm.network.session_id	Mapped from changelog
kv.FailureReason	event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.detection_fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.IdentityPolicyMatchedRule	event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.detection_fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.ServiceSelectionMatchedRule	event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.rule_name	Mapped from changelog
kv.cmd	event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.process.command_line	Mapped from changelog
kv.Network Device Group	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.Access Device	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.Priv-lvl	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.Network Access Profile Name	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.Authen-Failure-Code	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.Message-Type	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.Privilege-Level	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.Authen-Type	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.Service	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.Port	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.NAS-Portname	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.service	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.priv-lvl	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.task_id	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.Acct-Flags	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.Acct-Method	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.Acct-Type	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.Acct-Service	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.timezone	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.AAA Server	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.start_time	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
steps	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.NetworkDeviceGroups	event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.AuthenticationMethod	additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.SelectedAccessService	additional.fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.SelectedAuthorizationProfiles	security_result.detection_fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.SelectedAuthenticationIdentityStores	security_result.detection_fields	Mapped from changelog
kv.device-uid-global	principal.asset.product_object_id	Mapped from changelog
kv.device-uid	principal.asset.asset_id	Mapped from changelog
metadata.event_type	USER_UNCATEGORIZED	Mapped from changelog

Change Log

View the Change Log for this parser

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