Collect Proofpoint Email Filter logs

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest Proofpoint Email Filter logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

Proofpoint Email Protection (PPS) is an email security gateway that provides spam filtering, threat detection, and email policy enforcement. It supports syslog forwarding and CEF log integration for exporting security events and mail transaction logs.

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 Proofpoint Protection Server (PPS)
  • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
  • Privileged access to the Proofpoint Protection Server (PPS) management console with administrator permissions

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

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.

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 should show as 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 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:
        tcplog:
            listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"
    
    exporters:
        chronicle/proofpoint_mail_filter:
            compression: gzip
            creds_file_path: '<CREDS_FILE_PATH>'
            customer_id: '<CUSTOMER_ID>'
            endpoint: <REGION_ENDPOINT>
            log_type: PROOFPOINT_MAIL_FILTER
            raw_log_field: body
            ingestion_labels:
                env: production
    
    service:
        pipelines:
            logs/proofpoint_mail_to_chronicle:
                receivers:
                    - tcplog
                exporters:
                    - chronicle/proofpoint_mail_filter
    

Configuration parameters

Replace the following placeholders:

  • Receiver configuration:

    • tcplog: Receives syslog over TCP. Use udplog if you configure UDP transport in PPS.
    • 0.0.0.0:514: Listens on all interfaces on port 514. Change the port if needed (for example, 1514 for non-root Linux).
  • 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 Get Google SecOps customer ID 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.

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
    
    1. Verify the service is running:

      sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector
      
    2. 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 Proofpoint Email Protection syslog forwarding

Option 1: Configure syslog forwarding in Proofpoint PPS

  1. Sign in to the Proofpoint Protection Server (PPS) management console.
  2. Navigate to System > Logs and Reports > Log Settings.
  3. In the Remote Log Settings section, configure the following:
    • Protocol: Select Syslog.
    • Syslog server: Enter the IP address of the Bindplane agent host (for example, 192.168.1.100).
    • Port: Enter 514 (must match the Bindplane agent receiver port).
    • Transport: Select TCP (must match the Bindplane agent receiver configuration). TLS is also supported for secure forwarding.
  4. In the Local Log Options section, configure the logging verbosity as needed.
  5. Click Save Changes.

Option 2: Configure CEF log integration

  1. Sign in to the Proofpoint Protection Server (PPS) management console.
  2. Navigate to Configuration > Integrations > Integrated SIEM.
  3. Click the SIEM Log Integration tab.
  4. Select Enable export to ArcSight format to activate CEF log integration.
  5. Configure the syslog destination server:
    • Host: Enter the IP address of the Bindplane agent host (for example, 192.168.1.100).
    • Port: Enter 514 (must match the Bindplane agent receiver port).
  6. Click Save.
  7. Verify that CEF-formatted logs are being received by checking the Bindplane agent logs.

UDM mapping table

Log Field UDM Mapping Logic
about Additional information about the event
adultscore, attachments, hops, routes, notroutes, eid, querydepth, selector, spamscore, phishscore, mod, status, folder additional.fields Vendor-specific event data that cannot be adequately represented within the formal sections of the UDM model
auth extensions.auth.type Authentication type used
intermediary Information about intermediary devices involved in the event
domain intermediary.administrative_domain Administrative domain of the intermediary
hops-ip, lip, interm_ip intermediary.ip IP address of the intermediary
metadata.event_type Type of event (e.g., USER_LOGIN, NETWORK_CONNECTION)
prod_event_type metadata.product_event_type Product-specific event type
engine metadata.product_version Version of the product that generated the event
proto, mailer network.application_protocol Application protocol used in the network connection
hfrom, from network.email.from Email sender address
m, msgid, net_mail_id, hdr_mid network.email.mail_id Unique identifier for the email message
subject network.email.subject Subject line of the email
to network.email.to Email recipient addresses
received_byte network.received_bytes Number of bytes received in the network connection
s network.session_id Unique identifier for the network session
cipher network.tls.cipher TLS cipher suite used
tls_version, version network.tls.version TLS version used
domain principal.administrative_domain Administrative domain of the principal
proc principal.application Application involved in the event
device, host principal.asset.hostname Hostname of the asset associated with the principal
ip, srcip principal.asset.ip IP address of the asset associated with the principal
guid principal.asset_id Unique identifier for the asset
device, host principal.hostname Hostname of the principal
ip, srcip principal.ip IP address of the principal
country principal.location.country_or_region Country or region of the principal's location
cmd principal.process.command_line Command line used to launch the process
file, name principal.process.file.full_path Full path of the file involved in the process
sz, size principal.process.file.size Size of the file in bytes
pid, process_id principal.process.pid Process ID
action, security_action security_result.action Action taken by the security product
classifier security_result.category Category of the security result
class, internalId security_result.detection_fields Fields used for detection
rule security_result.rule_name Name of the rule that triggered the security result
security_desc security_result.summary Summary of the security result
hostname target.asset.hostname Hostname of the asset associated with the target
hostname target.hostname Hostname of the target
metadata.product_name Name of the product that generated the event
metadata.vendor_name Name of the vendor that produced the product

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