Collect macOS System Logs

Supported in:

Google secops SIEM

This document explains how you can ingest macOS system logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane. macOS uses the Apple Unified Logging system to capture system-level events including authentication, process execution, kernel activity, and application behavior. These logs can be forwarded via syslog to a remote collector for centralized security monitoring and analysis.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

A Google SecOps instance.
A Windows 2016 or later or Linux host with systemd.
If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements.
Administrative access to the macOS endpoints that will forward logs.
macOS 10.12 (Sierra) or later with Unified Logging support.

Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file

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

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.

Install the Bindplane agent

Install the Bindplane agent on your Windows or Linux operating system according to the following instructions.

Windows installation

Open the 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

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

Additional installation resources

For additional installation options, consult this installation guide.

Configure the Bindplane agent to ingest Syslog and send to Google SecOps

Access the Configuration File:
- Locate the config.yaml file. Typically, it's in the /observiq-otel-collector/ directory on Linux or in the installation directory on Windows.
- Open the file using a text editor (for example, nano, vi, or Notepad).

Edit the config.yaml file as follows:

receivers:
  udplog:
    # Replace the port and IP address as required
    listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"

exporters:
  chronicle/chronicle_w_labels:
    compression: gzip
    # Adjust the path to the credentials file you downloaded in Step 1
    creds_file_path: '/path/to/ingestion-authentication-file.json'
    # Replace with your actual customer ID from Step 2
    customer_id: <PLACEHOLDER_CUSTOMER_ID>
    endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
    # Add optional ingestion labels for better organization
    log_type: 'MACOS'
    raw_log_field: body
    ingestion_labels:

service:
  pipelines:
    logs/source0__chronicle_w_labels-0:
      receivers:
        - udplog
      exporters:
        - chronicle/chronicle_w_labels

Replace the port and IP address as required in your infrastructure.
Replace <PLACEHOLDER_CUSTOMER_ID> with the actual Customer ID.
Update /path/to/ingestion-authentication-file.json to the file path where the authentication file was saved in the Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file section.

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.
Verify the service is running:
```
sc query observiq-otel-collector
```

Check logs for errors:

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

Configure macOS syslog forwarding

macOS uses the Unified Logging system. To forward logs to the Bindplane agent via syslog, configure the built-in syslogd service on each macOS endpoint.

Option 1: Configure syslog forwarding using syslog.conf

Open Terminal on the macOS endpoint.
Edit the syslog configuration file:
```
sudo nano /etc/syslog.conf
```
Add the following line at the end of the file to forward all logs via UDP to the Bindplane agent:
```
*.*     @<BINDPLANE_IP_ADDRESS>:514
```
- Replace <BINDPLANE_IP_ADDRESS> with the IP address of the Bindplane agent host (for example, 192.168.1.100).
Note: Use @ for UDP forwarding. Use @@ for TCP forwarding.
Save the file and exit.

Restart the syslog daemon:

sudo launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.syslogd.plist
sudo launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.syslogd.plist

Option 2: Configure syslog forwarding using asl.conf

Open Terminal on the macOS endpoint.
Edit the ASL configuration file:
```
sudo nano /etc/asl.conf
```
Add the following line to forward logs to the remote syslog server:
```
? [= Sender kernel] forward <BINDPLANE_IP_ADDRESS>:514
? [<= Level notice] forward <BINDPLANE_IP_ADDRESS>:514
```
- Replace <BINDPLANE_IP_ADDRESS> with the IP address of the Bindplane agent host.
Save the file and exit.

Restart the syslog daemon:

sudo launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.syslogd.plist
sudo launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.syslogd.plist

Verify log forwarding

On the macOS endpoint, generate a test log message:

logger -p user.notice "Test syslog message for Bindplane"

On the Bindplane agent host, check the agent logs for incoming messages:
```
sudo journalctl -u observiq-otel-collector -f
```

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
`activityIdentifier_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`backtrace_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`bootUUID_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`category_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`chronicle_log_type_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`formatString_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`log_type_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`machTimestamp_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`messageType_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`parentActivityIdentifier_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`processImageUUID_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`senderImageUUID_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`senderProgramCounter_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`subprocess_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`subsystem_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`threadID_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`traceID_label`	`additional.fields`	Merged
`intermediary_host`	`intermediary.hostname`	Directly mapped
`attributes.message`	`metadata.description`	Directly mapped
`description`	`metadata.description`	Directly mapped
`eventMessage`	`metadata.description`	Directly mapped
`timestamp`	`metadata.event_timestamp`	Parsed as `ISO8601`
`has_principal`	`metadata.event_type`	Mapped: `true` → `STATUS_UPDATE`
`has_user`	`metadata.event_type`	Mapped: `true` → `USER_UNCATEGORIZED`
`attributes.process`	`metadata.product_event_type`	Directly mapped
`eventType`	`metadata.product_event_type`	Directly mapped
`attributes.host`	`principal.asset.hostname`	Directly mapped
`hostname`	`principal.asset.hostname`	Directly mapped
`source`	`principal.asset.hostname`	Directly mapped
`senderImagePath`	`principal.file.full_path`	Directly mapped
`attributes.host`	`principal.hostname`	Directly mapped
`hostname`	`principal.hostname`	Directly mapped
`source`	`principal.hostname`	Directly mapped
`command_line`	`principal.process.command_line`	Directly mapped
`processImagePath`	`principal.process.file.full_path`	Directly mapped
`attributes.pid`	`principal.process.pid`	Directly mapped
`processID`	`principal.process.pid`	Directly mapped
`process_id`	`principal.process.pid`	Directly mapped
`userID`	`principal.user.userid`	Directly mapped
N/A	`metadata.event_type`	Constant: `USER_UNCATEGORIZED`
N/A	`metadata.product_name`	Constant: `MacOS`
N/A	`metadata.vendor_name`	Constant: `Apple`
N/A	`principal.platform`	Constant: `MAC`

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