Collect Honeyd logs

Supported in:

Google secops SIEM

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

Honeyd is an open-source honeypot framework that simulates virtual hosts to detect unauthorized access and network scanning. It generates logs for connection attempts, port scans, and attacker interactions with honeypot services.

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 Honeyd host
If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
A running Honeyd deployment with logging enabled

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 Bindplane 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 /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/honeyd:
        compression: gzip
        creds_file_path: '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json'
        customer_id: '<customer_id>'
        endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
        log_type: HONEYD
        raw_log_field: body
        ingestion_labels:
            env: production

service:
    pipelines:
        logs/honeyd_to_chronicle:
            receivers:
                - udplog
            exporters:
                - chronicle/honeyd

Configuration parameters

Replace the following placeholders:

Receiver configuration:
- udplog: The receiver type based on protocol:
  - udplog for UDP syslog
  - tcplog for TCP syslog
- 0.0.0.0: IP address to listen on:
  - 0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces (recommended)
  - Specific IP address to listen on one interface
- 514: Port number to listen on (for example, 514, 1514, 6514)
Exporter configuration:
- honeyd: Descriptive name for the exporter
- 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
- 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
- HONEYD: Log type exactly as it appears in Chronicle
- ingestion_labels: Optional labels in YAML format (for example, env: production)
Pipeline configuration:
- honeyd_to_chronicle: Descriptive name for the pipeline

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 Honeyd syslog forwarding

Honeyd writes connection and interaction logs to local files. To forward these logs using syslog to the Bindplane agent, configure rsyslog on the Honeyd host.

Sign in to the Honeyd host with root or sudo privileges.
Identify the Honeyd log file location. By default, Honeyd logs to the path specified with the -l flag at startup (for example, /var/log/honeyd/honeyd.log).
Create an rsyslog configuration file to forward Honeyd logs:
```
sudo nano /etc/rsyslog.d/honeyd-forward.conf
```
Add the following configuration:
```
module(load="imfile")
input(type="imfile"
    File="/var/log/honeyd/honeyd.log"
    Tag="honeyd:"
    Severity="info"
    Facility="local6")
local6.* @<BINDPLANE_AGENT_IP>:514
```
- Replace <BINDPLANE_AGENT_IP> with the IP address of the Bindplane agent host.
- Replace /var/log/honeyd/honeyd.log with the actual path to your Honeyd log file.
- Use @@ instead of @ for TCP forwarding (must match the Bindplane agent receiver type).
Restart rsyslog to apply the changes:
```
sudo systemctl restart rsyslog
```
Verify that syslog messages are being received by checking the Bindplane agent logs.

Note: If Honeyd and the Bindplane agent run on the same host, you can configure the Bindplane agent to read the log file directly using a filelog receiver instead of syslog.

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
comment	metadata.event_type	Set to "NETWORK_HTTP" if network.application_protocol in ["HTTP","HTTPS"]; "NETWORK_FTP" if dst_port == "21"; "NETWORK_SMTP" if dst_port == "25"; else "NETWORK_CONNECTION"
	metadata.product_name	Set to "Honeyd"
	metadata.vendor_name	Set to "Niels Provos"
dst_port	network.application_protocol	Set to "UNKNOWN_APPLICATION_PROTOCOL", then updated to app_protocol_output derived from dst_port if dst_port present and app_protocol_output not empty
protocol	network.ip_protocol	Converted from protocol_number_src (protocol) using ip_protocol_out mapping
received_bytes	network.received_bytes	Set to received_bytes if type == "E", converted to uinteger
sent_bytes	network.sent_bytes	Set to sent_bytes if type == "E" or protocol == "1", converted to uinteger
src_ip	principal.asset.ip	Value copied directly
src_ip	principal.ip	Value copied directly
src_port	principal.port	Value copied directly, converted to integer
dst_ip	target.asset.ip	Value copied directly
dst_ip	target.ip	Value copied directly
comment	target.platform	Set to "WINDOWS" if matches (?i)WINDOWS; "LINUX" if matches (?i)LINUX
comment	target.platform_patch_level	Extracted from comment using grok pattern
comment	target.platform_version	Extracted from comment using grok pattern
dst_port	target.port	Value copied directly, converted to integer

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