Collect Cisco Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS) logs

Parser Version: 1.0

Supported in:

Google SecOps SIEM

This document explains how to ingest Cisco Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS) logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

The parser extracts key-value pairs from the syslog messages, then maps those values to Unified Data Model (UDM) fields. It determines the appropriate event type based on the presence of principal, target, and user information, and categorizes security events based on eventType and other fields.

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 Cisco Access Point (AP) or Wireless LAN Controller (WLC)
• If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
• Privileged access to Cisco Access Point (AP) or Wireless LAN Controller (WLC)

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 the 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 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/cisco_wips:
      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: CISCO_WIPS
      raw_log_field: body
  
  service:
    pipelines:
      logs/cisco_wips_to_chronicle:
        receivers:
          - udplog
        exporters:
          - chronicle/cisco_wips
  

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/cisco_wips:
      compression: gzip
      creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
      customer_id: '<customer_id>'
      endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      log_type: CISCO_WIPS
      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, 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 Adaptive Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (aWIPS) on Cisco Catalyst

1. Sign in to Cisco Catalyst using SSH.

2. Enter global config to enable aWIPS under the AP profile:

   configure terminal
   ap profile <profile-name>
   awips
   

3. Configure syslog throttle interval for 60 seconds:

   awips-syslog throttle period 60
   

Configure syslog using Cisco AP profiles

1. In AP-join profile (via CLI):

   configure terminal
   ap profile <profile-name>
   syslog host <BINDPLANE_IP>
   syslog level informational
   syslog facility local0
   end
   

2. Replace <BINDPLANE_IP> with the Bindplane agent IP address.

Configure syslog on Cisco WLC (GUI)

1. Sign in to the WLC web UI.
2. Go to Management > Logs > Config.
3. Enter the Bindplane agent IP address in the Syslog Server IP Address field.
4. Click Add.
5. Provide the following configuration details:
   • Syslog Severity: Select Informational.
   • Syslog Facility: Select Local Use 0.
6. Click Apply.
7. Click Save Configuration.

Configure syslog on Access Points using WLC (CLI)

1. Global AP syslog host:

   config ap syslog host global <BINDPLANE_IP>
   

2. Configure the specific AP syslog host:

   config ap syslog host specific <AP-name> <BINDPLANE_IP>
   

3. Set the AP syslog severity:

   config ap logging syslog level informational
   

4. Set the facility for AP messages:

   config logging syslog facility local0
   

5. Replace <BINDPLANE_IP> with the Bindplane agent IP address.

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
applicationCategoryData	security_result.summary	Directly mapped.
applicationSpecificAlarmID	target.resource.attribute.labels.applicationSpecificAlarmID	Converted to a label on the target resource.
attackerMacAddr	target.mac	Directly mapped.
authEntityId	principal.resource.attribute.labels.authEntityId	Converted to a label on the principal resource.
category	security_result.category_details	Directly mapped.
detectingApCount	target.resource.attribute.labels.detectingApCount	Converted to a label on the target resource.
description	metadata.description	Directly mapped.
displayName	principal.user.userid	Extracted using regular expression host/(?P<user_id>[\\w-]+) from displayName if the pattern matches.
eventType	metadata.product_event_type	Directly mapped.
instanceId	principal.resource.attribute.labels.instanceId	Converted to a label on the principal resource.
instanceUuid	metadata.product_log_id	Directly mapped.
instanceVersion	principal.resource.attribute.labels.instanceVersion	Converted to a label on the principal resource.
macInfo	target.resource.attribute.labels.macInfo	Converted to a label on the target resource.
notificationDeliveryMechanism	target.resource.attribute.labels.notificationDeliveryMechanism, network.ip_protocol	Converted to a label on the target resource. If the value contains "snmp" (case-insensitive), network.ip_protocol is set to "UDP".
previousSeverity	target.resource.attribute.labels.previousSeverity	Converted to a label on the target resource. Set to "AUTHTYPE_UNSPECIFIED" if eventType is "USER_AUTHENTICATION_FAILURE" and user_id is not empty. Copied from the log's timestamp. Determined by parser logic based on several conditions: "USER_LOGIN" if eventType is "USER_AUTHENTICATION_FAILURE" and user_id is not empty. "NETWORK_CONNECTION" if both is_target_present and is_principal_present are true. "STATUS_UPDATE" if is_principal_present is true. "USER_UNCATEGORIZED" if user_id is not empty. "GENERIC_EVENT" otherwise. Hardcoded to "CISCO_WIPS". Hardcoded to "Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS)". Hardcoded to "Cisco". Set to "UDP" if notificationDeliveryMechanism contains "snmp" (case-insensitive). Mapped from either reportingEntityAddress or source if they are not IPs. Mapped from either reportingEntityAddress or source if they are IPs. Extracted using regular expression from source if it is a MAC address. Converted to a label on the principal resource. Converted to a label on the principal resource.
reportingEntityAddress	principal.ip, principal.hostname	If it's an IP address, mapped to principal.ip. Otherwise, mapped to principal.hostname.
severity	security_result.severity	Mapped based on these conditions: "CRITICAL" if severity is "0", "1", "CRITICAL", or "VERY-HIGH". "HIGH" if severity is "2", "3", "4", or "HIGH". "MEDIUM" if severity is "5" or "MEDIUM". "LOW" if severity is "6", "7", or "LOW".
sigAlertDescription	security_result.description	Directly mapped.
signatureName	target.resource.attribute.labels.signatureName	Converted to a label on the target resource.
source	principal.hostname, principal.ip, principal.mac	If it's an IP address, mapped to principal.ip. If it's a MAC address, mapped to principal.mac. Otherwise, mapped to principal.hostname.
srcObjectClassId	principal.resource.attribute.labels.srcObjectClassId	Converted to a label on the principal resource.
srcObjectId	principal.resource.attribute.labels.srcObjectId	Converted to a label on the principal resource.
subclassName	security_result.rule_name	Directly mapped. Set to "BLOCK" if applicationSpecificAlarmID contains "BlockList" (case-insensitive) or if eventType is one of "SIGNATURE_ATTACK", "MALICIOUS_ROGUE_AP_DETECTED", or "USER_AUTHENTICATION_FAILURE". Determined by parser logic based on eventType: "NETWORK_MALICIOUS" if eventType is "MALICIOUS_ROGUE_AP_DETECTED". "NETWORK_SUSPICIOUS" if eventType is "SIGNATURE_ATTACK". "AUTH_VIOLATION" if eventType is "USER_AUTHENTICATION_FAILURE".
timestamp	metadata.event_timestamp	The seconds and nanos fields are directly mapped.

Change Log

View the Change Log for this parser

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