Collect Cyber 2.0 IDS logs

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This document explains how to ingest Cyber 2.0 IDS logs into Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

Cyber 2.0 IDSs provide enterprise-grade network security with integrated intrusion detection and prevention capabilities. The MX appliances use the Snort intrusion detection engine to monitor network traffic for malicious activity and generate IDS alerts based on threat intelligence from Cisco Talos. IDS alerts are generated in two formats: legacy ids-alerts and current security_event types, with priority levels ranging from 1 (high) to 4 (very low) based on Snort signature classifications.

Before you begin

Make sure that 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 Cyber 2.0 IDS
  • If running behind a proxy, ensure that firewall ports are open according to the Bindplane agent requirements
  • Administrative access to the Cisco Meraki Dashboard
  • Cyber 2.0 IDS with Advanced Security Edition licensing (required for IDS/IPS features)
  • Network connectivity from the Meraki MX appliance to the Bindplane agent host (UDP port 514 or custom port)

Get the 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. Save the file securely on the system where Bindplane will be installed.

Get the 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 status should be 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 status should be active (running).

Additional installation resources

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

Configure Bindplane agent to ingest syslog and send logs 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

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

    receivers:
        udplog:
            listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"
    
    exporters:
        chronicle/meraki_ids:
            compression: gzip
            creds_file_path: '<CREDS_FILE_PATH>'
            customer_id: '<CUSTOMER_ID>'
            endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
            log_type: CYBER_2_IDS
            raw_log_field: body
            ingestion_labels:
                vendor: cisco_meraki
                product: mx_security_appliance
    
    service:
        pipelines:
            logs/meraki_to_chronicle:
                receivers:
                    - udplog
                exporters:
                    - chronicle/meraki_ids
    
  2. Replace the following placeholders:

    • Receiver configuration:

      • The receiver is configured to listen on all interfaces (0.0.0.0) on UDP port 514 (standard syslog port)
      • If port 514 is already in use or you need to run as non-root on Linux, change the port to 1514 or another available port
    • Exporter configuration:

      • <CREDS_FILE_PATH>: Full path to the 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 previous step

      • endpoint: Regional endpoint URL (the default shown is the US region):

        • US: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
        • Europe: europe-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
        • Asia: asia-southeast1-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
        • See Regional Endpoints for complete list
      • log_type: Set to CYBER_2_IDS for Cisco Meraki IDS alerts.

      • ingestion_labels: Optional labels to categorize logs in Google SecOps.

Example configuration

  • receivers:
      udplog:
        listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"
    
    exporters:
      chronicle/meraki_ids:
        compression: gzip
        creds_file_path: '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json'
        customer_id: 'a1b2c3d4-e5f6-g7h8-i9j0-k1l2m3n4o5p6'
        endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
        log_type: CYBER_2_IDS
        raw_log_field: body
        ingestion_labels:
          vendor: cisco_meraki
          product: mx_security_appliance
          environment: production
    
    service:
      pipelines:
        logs/meraki_to_chronicle:
          receivers:
            - udplog
          exporters:
            - chronicle/meraki_ids
    

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 the 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 the logs for errors:

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

Configure Cyber 2.0 IDS syslog forwarding

  1. Sign in to the Cisco Meraki Dashboard at https://dashboard.meraki.com.
  2. Select your organization from the organization dropdown menu at the top left.
  3. Select the network containing your MX Security Appliance from the network dropdown menu.
  4. Go to Network-wide > Configure > General.
  5. Scroll down to the Reporting section.
  6. Under Syslog servers, click Add a syslog server.
  7. Configure the syslog server with the following settings:
    • Server IP: Enter the IP address of the Bindplane agent host (for example, 192.168.1.100).
    • Port: Enter 514 (or the custom port configured in the Bindplane agent if different).
    • Roles: Select the following roles to forward IDS alerts:
      • Check IDS alerts (for legacy ids-alerts format events)
      • Check Security events (for current security_event format events including IDS alerts and AMP malware detections)
  8. Click Save changes at the bottom of the page.
  9. Verify that IDS/IPS is enabled on your MX Security Appliance:
    1. Go to Security & SD-WAN > Configure > Threat protection.
    2. Ensure Mode is set to Detection (IDS) or Prevention (IPS).
    3. Select a ruleset: Connectivity, Balanced, or Security, based on your security requirements.
    4. Click Save changes.
  10. Generate test traffic to verify log forwarding:

    1. Go to Security & SD-WAN > Monitor > Security center.
    2. Verify that IDS alerts are being generated.
    3. Check the Bindplane agent logs to confirm that events are being received and forwarded to Google SecOps.

UDM mapping table

Log Field UDM Mapping Logic
time1, monthnum+day+time2, time metadata.event_timestamp Timestamp when the event occurred
app_version about.resource.attribute.labels List of key-value pairs for resource attributes
prod_event_type metadata.product_event_type Product-specific event type
Groups principal.group.group_display_name Display name of the group
app_name, app_version, hostname, principal_ip, md5_value about Information about the event
inter_host intermediary.hostname Hostname of the intermediary
description metadata.description Description of the event
Protocol network.ip_protocol IP protocol used in the network connection
Direction network.direction Direction of the network traffic
Source principal.port Port number of the principal
Destination target.port Port number of the target
SourceIP, principal_ip principal.ip IP address of the principal
SourceIP, principal_ip principal.asset.ip IP address of the principal's asset
DestinationIP target.ip IP address of the target
DestinationIP target.asset.ip IP address of the target's asset
HostName, hostname principal.hostname Hostname of the principal
HostName, hostname principal.asset.hostname Hostname of the principal's asset
ApplicationName target.application Application name of the target
UserName principal.user.userid User ID of the principal
FullPath target.file.full_path Full path of the file
Status security_result.action Action taken by the security system
pid principal.process.pid Process ID
src_application principal.application Application name of the principal
SubSeqNumber, FlowHandle, ClientZValue, MACAddress, State, IsXCast, FlowState, DLLMode security_result.detection_fields Detection fields from the security result
severity security_result.severity Severity of the security result
DB, NewApps, UniqueApps, Computers, Duration additional.fields Additional fields
metadata.event_type Type of event
metadata.product_name Product name
metadata.vendor_name Vendor name

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