Collect Elastic Windows Event Log Beats logs

Supported in:

Google secops SIEM

Note: This feature is covered by Pre-GA Offerings Terms of the Google Security Operations Service Specific Terms. Pre-GA features might have limited support, and changes to pre-GA features might not be compatible with other pre-GA versions. For more information, see the Google SecOps Technical Support Service guidelines and the Google SecOps Service Specific Terms.

This document explains how to ingest Elastic Windows Event Log Beats logs into Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

Winlogbeat is Elastic's Windows-specific event log shipping agent that collects Windows Event Logs and forwards them to various destinations. It runs as a Windows service on Windows systems and can collect events from Application, Security, System, and other Windows event log channels.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

• A Google SecOps instance
• Windows Server 2016 or later, or a Linux host with systemd for running the Bindplane agent
• Network connectivity between the Bindplane agent and the Logstash server
• Network connectivity between Logstash and the Bindplane agent
• If running behind a proxy, ensure that firewall ports are open according to the Bindplane agent requirements
• Windows systems where Winlogbeat will be installed to collect event logs
• Administrator access to Windows systems for Winlogbeat installation
• Logstash server (version 7.x or 8.x) for intermediary processing

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

   Note: This JSON file contains credentials for authenticating the Bindplane agent to Google SecOps.

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 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 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:
       tcplog:
           listen_address: "0.0.0.0:1514"
   
   exporters:
       chronicle/winlogbeat:
           compression: gzip
           creds_file_path: '<CREDS_FILE_PATH>'
           customer_id: '<CUSTOMER_ID>'
           endpoint: <REGION_ENDPOINT>
           log_type: ELASTIC_WINLOGBEAT
           raw_log_field: body
           ingestion_labels:
               env: production
               source: winlogbeat
   
   service:
       pipelines:
           logs/winlogbeat_to_chronicle:
               receivers:
                   - tcplog
               exporters:
                   - chronicle/winlogbeat
   

2. Replace the following placeholders:

   • Receiver configuration:

     • listen_address: Set to 0.0.0.0:1514 to listen on all interfaces on port 1514 (TCP). You can change the port number if needed, but ensure that it matches the Logstash syslog output configuration.

   • 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 from the previous step

     • <REGION_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

Example configuration:

• receivers:
    tcplog:
      listen_address: "0.0.0.0:1514"
  
  exporters:
    chronicle/winlogbeat:
      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: ELASTIC_WINLOGBEAT
      raw_log_field: body
      ingestion_labels:
        env: production
        source: winlogbeat
  
  service:
    pipelines:
      logs/winlogbeat_to_chronicle:
        receivers:
          - tcplog
        exporters:
          - chronicle/winlogbeat
  

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"
     

Install and configure Logstash

Logstash is required as an intermediary to receive events from Winlogbeat and forward them to the Bindplane agent via syslog. Winlogbeat does not have native syslog output capability.

Install Logstash

1. Download Logstash from the Elastic downloads page.
2. Install Logstash on a Windows or Linux server:

• Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):

  wget -qO - https://artifacts.elastic.co/GPG-KEY-elasticsearch | sudo apt-key add -
  sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https
  echo "deb https://artifacts.elastic.co/packages/8.x/apt stable main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/elastic-8.x.list
  sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install logstash
  

• Linux (RHEL/CentOS):

  sudo rpm --import https://artifacts.elastic.co/GPG-KEY-elasticsearch
  sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/logstash.repo <<EOF
  [logstash-8.x]
  name=Elastic repository for 8.x packages
  baseurl=https://artifacts.elastic.co/packages/8.x/yum
  gpgcheck=1
  gpgkey=https://artifacts.elastic.co/GPG-KEY-elasticsearch
  enabled=1
  autorefresh=1
  type=rpm-md
  EOF
  sudo yum install logstash
  

• Windows:

  1. Download the ZIP file from the Elastic downloads page.
  2. Extract to C:\logstash.

Configure Logstash pipeline

1. Create a new pipeline configuration file:

   • Linux:

     sudo nano /etc/logstash/conf.d/winlogbeat-to-syslog.conf
     

   • Windows:

     notepad "C:\logstash\config\winlogbeat-to-syslog.conf"
     

2. Add the following configuration:

   input {
       beats {
           port => 5044
       }
   }
   
   output {
       syslog {
           host => "<BINDPLANE_AGENT_IP>"
           port => 1514
           protocol => "tcp"
           rfc => "rfc5424"
           appname => "winlogbeat"
           facility => "user-level"
           severity => "informational"
       }
   }
   

3. Replace <BINDPLANE_AGENT_IP> with the IP address of the server running the Bindplane agent.

Example Logstash configuration

• input {
      beats {
          port => 5044
      }
  }
  
  output {
      syslog {
          host => "192.168.1.100"
          port => 1514
          protocol => "tcp"
          rfc => "rfc5424"
          appname => "winlogbeat"
          facility => "user-level"
          severity => "informational"
      }
  }
  

Start Logstash

• Linux:

  1. Start Logstash:

     sudo systemctl start logstash
     sudo systemctl enable logstash
     

  2. Verify Logstash is running:

     sudo systemctl status logstash
     

  3. Check Logstash logs:

     sudo tail -f /var/log/logstash/logstash-plain.log
     

• Windows:

  cd C:\logstash\bin
  logstash.bat -f C:\logstash\config\winlogbeat-to-syslog.conf
  

  For production use, install Logstash as a Windows service using NSSM or similar tools.

Install Winlogbeat on Windows systems

Download Winlogbeat

1. Download Winlogbeat from the Elastic downloads page.
2. Choose the ZIP or MSI installer for Windows.

Install Winlogbeat

• Using MSI installer:

  1. Run the MSI installer.
  2. Follow the installation wizard.
  3. Install to the default location: C:\Program Files\Winlogbeat.

• Using ZIP file:

  1. Extract the ZIP file to C:\Program Files\Winlogbeat.
  2. Open PowerShell as an administrator.

  3. Navigate to the Winlogbeat directory:

     cd 'C:\Program Files\Winlogbeat'
     

  4. Run the installation script:

     .\install-service-winlogbeat.ps1
     

Configure Winlogbeat to send logs to Logstash

1. Open the Winlogbeat configuration file:

   notepad "C:\Program Files\Winlogbeat\winlogbeat.yml"
   

2. Configure the event logs to collect. Locate the winlogbeat.event_logs section and configure as follows:

   winlogbeat.event_logs:
     - name: Application
       ignore_older: 72h
     - name: System
     - name: Security
     - name: Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
       ignore_older: 72h
     - name: Windows PowerShell
       event_id: 400, 403, 600, 800
     - name: Microsoft-Windows-PowerShell/Operational
       event_id: 4103, 4104, 4105, 4106
     - name: ForwardedEvents
       tags: [forwarded]
   

3. Comment out the Elasticsearch output section by adding # at the beginning of each line:

   #output.elasticsearch:
   #  hosts: ["localhost:9200"]
   

4. Uncomment and configure the Logstash output section:

   output.logstash:
     hosts: ["<LOGSTASH_SERVER_IP>:5044"]
   

5. Replace <LOGSTASH_SERVER_IP> with the IP address of your Logstash server.

Example Winlogbeat configuration

• winlogbeat.event_logs:
    - name: Application
      ignore_older: 72h
    - name: System
    - name: Security
    - name: Microsoft-Windows-Sysmon/Operational
      ignore_older: 72h
  
  output.logstash:
    hosts: ["192.168.1.50:5044"]
  

Save the configuration file

Save and close the file.

Start Winlogbeat service

1. Open PowerShell as an administrator.

2. Start the Winlogbeat service:

   Start-Service winlogbeat
   

3. Verify the service is running:

   Get-Service winlogbeat
   

   The status should show as Running.

4. Check Winlogbeat logs for errors:

   Get-Content "C:\ProgramData\winlogbeat\Logs\winlogbeat" -Tail 50
   

Verify log flow

Verify Winlogbeat to Logstash connection

1. On the Logstash server, check the Logstash logs:

   • Linux:

     sudo tail -f /var/log/logstash/logstash-plain.log
     

   • Windows:

     type C:\logstash\logs\logstash-plain.log
     

2. Look for messages indicating Beats connections:

   [INFO ][logstash.inputs.beats] Beats inputs: Starting input listener {:address=>"0.0.0.0:5044"}
   

Verify Logstash to Bindplane agent connection

1. On the Bindplane agent server, check the agent logs:

   • Linux:

     sudo journalctl -u observiq-otel-collector -f
     

   • Windows:

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

2. Look for messages indicating successful log ingestion.

Verify logs in Google SecOps

1. Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
2. Go to Search.

3. Run a search query to verify Winlogbeat logs are being ingested:

   metadata.log_type = "ELASTIC_WINLOGBEAT"
   

4. Verify that Windows event logs appear in the search results.

Troubleshooting

Winlogbeat not connecting to Logstash

• Verify network connectivity between Winlogbeat and Logstash:

  Test-NetConnection -ComputerName <LOGSTASH_IP> -Port 5044
  

• Check Windows Firewall rules allow outbound connections on port 5044.

• Verify Logstash is listening on port 5044:

  • Linux:

    sudo netstat -tulpn | grep 5044
    

  • Windows:

    netstat -an | findstr 5044
    

Logstash not forwarding to Bindplane agent

• Verify network connectivity between Logstash and Bindplane agent:

  • Linux:

    telnet <BINDPLANE_IP> 1514
    

  • Windows:

    Test-NetConnection -ComputerName <BINDPLANE_IP> -Port 1514
    

• Check firewall rules allow TCP connections on port 1514.

• Verify Bindplane agent is listening on port 1514:

  • Linux:

    sudo netstat -tulpn | grep 1514
    

  • Windows:

    netstat -an | findstr 1514
    

Logs not appearing in Google SecOps

• Verify the customer ID and ingestion authentication file are correct.
• Check the Bindplane agent logs for authentication errors.
• Verify the regional endpoint matches your Google SecOps instance region.
• Ensure the log_type is set to ELASTIC_WINLOGBEAT exactly as shown.

UDM mapping table

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