Collect Fortinet FortiMail logs

Supported in:

Google secops SIEM

This document explains how to ingest Fortinet FortiMail logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

Fortinet FortiMail is an email security gateway that generates syslog messages for email transactions, spam filtering, virus detection, authentication events, and policy enforcement. The parser extracts key-value pairs, normalizes timestamps and IP addresses, and maps them to the Unified Data Model (UDM).

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 Fortinet FortiMail
If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
Privileged access to Fortinet FortiMail

Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file

Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
Go to SIEM Settings > Collection Agents.
Download the Ingestion Authentication File.
Save the file securely on the system where the Bindplane agent will be installed.

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

Get Google SecOps customer ID

Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
Go to SIEM Settings > Profile.
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

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as an administrator.

Run the following command:

msiexec /i "https://github.com/observIQ/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/observiq-otel-collector.msi" /quiet

Wait for the installation to complete.
Verify the installation by running:
```
sc query observiq-otel-collector
```
The service should show as RUNNING.

Linux installation

Open a terminal with root or sudo privileges.

Run the following command:

sudo sh -c "$(curl -fsSlL https://github.com/observiq/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/install_unix.sh)" install_unix.sh

Wait for the installation to complete.
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.

Configure the 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

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

receivers:
    udplog:
        listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"

exporters:
    chronicle/fortinet_fortimail:
        compression: gzip
        creds_file_path: '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json'
        customer_id: '<customer_id>'
        endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
        log_type: FORTINET_FORTIMAIL
        raw_log_field: body

service:
    pipelines:
        logs/fortinet_fortimail_to_chronicle:
            receivers:
                - udplog
            exporters:
                - chronicle/fortinet_fortimail

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 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 Google SecOps console
- 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

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

Verify the service is running:

sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector

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 Fortinet FortiMail syslog

Sign in to the FortiMail device web interface.
Select Log & Report > Log Settings > Remote.
Click New to create a new entry.
In the dialog that appears, select Enable to allow logging to a remote host.
Provide the following details:
- Name: Enter a unique and meaningful name.
- Server name/IP: Enter the Bindplane IP address.
- Server port: Enter the Bindplane UDP port number.
- Level: Select Information as severity level.
- Facility: Enter a unique facility identifier and verify that no other network devices use the same facility identifier.
- Deselect CSV format.
- Log protocol: Select Syslog.
- Logging policy configuration: Enable all types of events or logs to be forwarded.
Click Create.

UDM mapping table

Log field	UDM mapping	Logic
authid	read_only_udm.target.user.email_addresses	If `authid` field contains `@` then map to this field
authid	read_only_udm.target.user.userid	Map `authid` field to this field
cipher	read_only_udm.network.tls.cipher	Map `cipher` field to this field
client_ip	read_only_udm.principal.ip	Map `client_ip` field to this field
client_name	read_only_udm.principal.hostname	Map `client_name` field to this field
detail	read_only_udm.security_result.summary	Map `detail` field to this field
device_id	read_only_udm.principal.resource.id	Map `device_id` field to this field
devname	read_only_udm.principal.resource.name	Map `devname` field to this field
direction	read_only_udm.network.direction	If `direction` field is equal to `out` then map value `OUTBOUND`, if `direction` field is equal to `in` then map value `INBOUND`, else map value `UNKNOWN_DIRECTION`
disposition	read_only_udm.security_result.detection_fields.value	Map `disposition` field to this field, when key field is equal to `Disposition`
domain	read_only_udm.principal.administrative_domain	Map `domain` field to this field
dst_ip	read_only_udm.target.ip	Map `dst_ip` field to this field
from	read_only_udm.network.email.from	If `from` field contains `@` then map to this field
log_id	read_only_udm.metadata.product_log_id	Map `log_id` field to this field
message_id	read_only_udm.network.email.mail_id	Map `message_id` field to this field
message_length	read_only_udm.additional.fields.value.number_value	Map `message_length` field to this field, when key field is equal to `message_length`
msg	read_only_udm.security_result.description	Map `msg` field to this field
polid	read_only_udm.security_result.detection_fields.value	Map `polid` field to this field, when key field is equal to `Polid`
relay	read_only_udm.intermediary.ip	Map `relay` field to this field
resolved	read_only_udm.security_result.detection_fields.value	Map `resolved` field to this field, when key field is equal to `Resolved`
session_id	read_only_udm.network.session_id	Map `session_id` field to this field
src_type	read_only_udm.additional.fields.value.string_value	Map `src_type` field to this field, when key field is equal to `src_type`
stat	read_only_udm.metadata.description	Map `stat` field to this field
subject	read_only_udm.network.email.subject	Map `subject` field to this field
to	read_only_udm.network.email.to	If `to` field contains `@` then map to this field
user	read_only_udm.principal.user.userid	Map `user` field to this field
N/A	read_only_udm.extensions.auth.mechanism	The value of this field is hardcoded in the parser code as `USERNAME_PASSWORD` when `authid` field exists
N/A	read_only_udm.extensions.auth.type	The value of this field is hardcoded in the parser code as `AUTHTYPE_UNSPECIFIED` when `authid` field exists
N/A	read_only_udm.metadata.event_type	The value of this field is determined by the parser logic based on a combination of available fields. If `from` field exists then the value is `EMAIL_TRANSACTION`, else if `to` field exists then the value is `EMAIL_UNCATEGORIZED`, else if both `client_ip` and `dst_ip` fields exist then the value is `NETWORK_CONNECTION`, else if `authid` field exists then the value is `USER_LOGIN`, else if `user` field exists then the value is `USER_UNCATEGORIZED`, else if `client_ip` field exists then the value is `STATUS_UPDATE`, else the value is `GENERIC_EVENT`
N/A	read_only_udm.metadata.log_type	The value of this field is hardcoded in the parser code as `FORTINET_FORTIMAIL`
N/A	read_only_udm.metadata.product_name	The value of this field is hardcoded in the parser code as `FORTINET_FORTIMAIL`
N/A	read_only_udm.metadata.vendor_name	The value of this field is hardcoded in the parser code as `FORTINET`
N/A	read_only_udm.principal.resource.resource_type	The value of this field is hardcoded in the parser code as `DEVICE`

Need more help? Get answers from Community members and Google SecOps professionals.