Collect NGINX logs

Supported in:

Google secops SIEM

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

NGINX is a web server and reverse proxy that generates syslog messages for HTTP access events, error events, authentication activity, and process information. The parser extracts fields from multiple log formats (syslog, JSON, access logs) using grok patterns 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 the NGINX server
If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
Administrative access to the NGINX host

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

service:
    pipelines:
        logs/nginx_to_chronicle:
            receivers:
                - udplog
            exporters:
                - chronicle/nginx

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 NGINX to forward logs to Bindplane

Open the NGINX configuration file (for example, /etc/nginx/nginx.conf):
```
sudo vi /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
```

Edit the configuration, replacing <BINDPLANE_SERVER> and <BINDPLANE_PORT> with your values:

http {
    access_log syslog:server=<BINDPLANE_SERVER>:<BINDPLANE_PORT>,facility=local7,tag=nginx_access;
    error_log syslog:server=<BINDPLANE_SERVER>:<BINDPLANE_PORT>,facility=local7,tag=nginx_error;
}

Restart NGINX to apply the changes:
```
sudo systemctl reload nginx
```

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
`_Internal_WorkspaceResourceId`	`target.resource.product_object_id`	Directly mapped
`Computer`	`principal.asset.hostname`	Directly mapped
`Facility`	`additional.fields[`facility`]`	Directly mapped
`HostName`	`principal.asset.hostname`	Directly mapped if `src_ip` is not present
`ProcessName`	`principal.application`	Directly mapped
`SeverityLevel`	`security_result.severity`	Mapped to INFORMATIONAL if the value is `info`
`SourceSystem`	`principal.asset.platform`	Mapped to LINUX if the value matches `Linux`
`SyslogMessage`	Multiple fields	Parsed using grok to extract `time`, `method`, `target_path`, `protocol`, `response_code`, `referral_url`, `user_agent`, `target_ip`, `target_host`, and `cache`
`TenantId`	`additional.fields[`TenantId`]`	Directly mapped
`acct`	`principal.user.user_id`	Directly mapped if not empty or `?`
`addr`	`principal.asset.ip`	Directly mapped
`audit_epoch`	`metadata.event_timestamp`	Converted to timestamp using the `UNIX` format. Nanoseconds are extracted from the original log message.
`cache`	`additional.fields[`cache`]`	Directly mapped
`collection_time.nanos`	`metadata.event_timestamp.nanos`	Used for nanoseconds of the event timestamp if available
`collection_time.seconds`	`metadata.event_timestamp.seconds`	Used for seconds of the event timestamp if available
`data`	Multiple fields	The main source of data, parsed differently based on the log format (Syslog, JSON, or other)
`exe`	`target.process.command_line`	Directly mapped after removing backslashes and quotes
`hostname`	`principal.asset.hostname` OR `principal.asset.ip`	If it is an IP address, mapped to `principal.asset.ip`. Otherwise, mapped to `principal.asset.hostname`
`msg`	`metadata.description`	Directly mapped as the description
`node`	`target.asset.hostname`	Directly mapped
`pid`	`target.process.pid`	Directly mapped
`protocol`	`network.application_protocol`	Mapped to HTTP if the value matches `HTTP`
`referral_url`	`network.http.referral_url`	Directly mapped if not empty or `-`
`res`	`security_result.action_details`	Directly mapped
`response_code`	`network.http.response_code`	Directly mapped and converted to integer
`ses`	`network.session_id`	Directly mapped
`src_ip`	`principal.asset.ip`	Directly mapped
`target_host`	`target.asset.hostname`	Directly mapped
`target_ip`	`target.asset.ip`	Directly mapped, after converting the string representation to a JSON array and then extracting individual IPs
`target_path`	`target.url`	Directly mapped
`time`	`metadata.event_timestamp`	Parsed to extract the timestamp using the format `dd/MMM/yyyy:HH:mm:ss Z`
`user_agent`	`network.http.user_agent`	Directly mapped if not empty or `-`
	`metadata.event_type`	Set to `GENERIC_EVENT` initially, then potentially overwritten based on other fields like `terminal` and `protocol`. Defaults to `USER_UNCATEGORIZED` if the main grok pattern does not match. Set to `NETWORK_HTTP` if `protocol` is HTTP and `target_ip` is present, and `STATUS_UPDATE` if `protocol` is HTTP but `target_ip` is not present
	`metadata.log_type`	Set to `NGINX`
	`metadata.product_name`	Set to `NGINX`
	`metadata.vendor_name`	Set to `NGINX`
	`network.ip_protocol`	Set to `TCP` if `terminal` is `sshd` or `ssh`, or if the main grok pattern does not match
	`principal.asset_id`	Set to `GCP.GCE:0001` if `terminal` is `sshd` or `ssh`. Set to `GCP.GCE:0002` if the main grok pattern does not match
	`extensions.auth.type`	Set to `MACHINE` if `terminal` is `sshd` or `ssh`

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