Collect Sophos Central logs

Supported in:

Google SecOps SIEM

This document explains how to collect Sophos Central logs by using Bindplane. The parser transforms JSON logs into a unified data model (UDM). It extracts fields from nested JSON structures, maps them to UDM fields, and performs event categorization based on the type field, enriching the data with specific details and actions for different Sophos Central event types.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

• A Google SecOps instance.
• You are using Windows 2016 or later, or a Linux host with systemd.
• You have an additional Windows or Linux machine, capable of continuously running Python.
• If running behind a proxy, make sure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements.
• Privileged access to the Sophos Central Admin console.

Get Google SecOps credentials for the Bindplane agent

To authenticate the Bindplane agent to Google SecOps, choose one of the following methods:

• New deployments: Use the Chronicle API (Option 1).
• Legacy deployments: Continue using the ingestion authentication file (Option 2) until the Ingestion API is discontinued on July 20, 2027.

Option 1: Create a service account for the Chronicle API (recommended)

1. Sign in to the Google Cloud console and select the Google Cloud project that is linked to your Google SecOps instance.
2. Go to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.
3. Click Create service account.
4. Provide the following configuration details:
   • Service account name: Enter a name for the account (for example, bindplane-ingest).
   • Service account description: Enter a description (for example, Bindplane agent log ingestion).
5. Click Create and continue.
6. In the Grant this service account access to project section, click Select a role and select Chronicle Editor.
7. Click Continue, and then click Done.
8. Click the service account you created, and then go to the Keys tab.
9. Click Add key > Create new key.
10. Select JSON and click Create. The key file is downloaded to your computer.
11. Save the key file as ingestion-auth.json in the Bindplane collector directory (/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json on Linux or C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json on Windows), or update creds_file_path in config.yaml to match the path where you save it.
12. Go to IAM & Admin > Settings and copy the Project number. You'll need it for the exporter configuration.

Note: The JSON key is a credential. Restrict access to the file on the Bindplane host and rotate the key according to your organization's policy.

Option 2: Download the ingestion authentication file (legacy)

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 the Bindplane agent will be installed.

Note: This file authenticates the agent to the legacy Ingestion API (malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com), which Google has scheduled for end of life on July 20, 2027. Plan to move to Option 1 before that date.

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 the 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](https://github.com/observIQ/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/observiq-otel-collector.msi)" /quiet
   

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](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.

Note: The Chronicle API exporter configuration requires Bindplane collector v1.106.0 or later. The previous commands install the latest release. If you're updating an existing installation, upgrade the collector before changing the configuration.

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

1. Access the Configuration File:

   • Locate the config.yaml file. Typically, it's in the /opt/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).

2. 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:
       protocol: https
       # Region of your instance, for example us, europe, asia-southeast1
       location: <LOCATION>
       # Project number of the Google Cloud project linked to the instance
       project: '<PROJECT_NUMBER>'
       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: '<customer_id>'
       endpoint: chronicle.googleapis.com
       # Add optional ingestion labels for better organization
       log_type: 'SOPHOS_CENTRAL'
       raw_log_field: body
       ingestion_labels:
   
   service:
     pipelines:
       logs/source0__chronicle_w_labels-0:
         receivers:
           - udplog
         exporters:
           - chronicle/chronicle_w_labels
   

3. Replace the port and IP address as required in your infrastructure.

4. Replace <LOCATION> with the region of your Google SecOps instance (for example, us, europe, or asia-southeast1). The exporter prefixes chronicle.googleapis.com with this value.

5. Replace <PROJECT_NUMBER> with the project number from IAM & Admin > Settings.

6. Replace <customer_id> with the actual Customer ID.

7. Update /path/to/ingestion-authentication-file.json to the file path where the service account key file (Option 1) was saved in Step 1.

Legacy ingestion API exporter

• If you use the ingestion authentication file from Option 2, replace the exporters block with the following. Set creds_file_path to the path to the ingestion authentication file, and if your instance is outside the US, replace malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com with your regional endpoint (for example, europe-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com).

  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: '<customer_id>'
      endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      # Add optional ingestion labels for better organization
      log_type: 'SOPHOS_CENTRAL'
      raw_log_field: body
      ingestion_labels:
  

Note: This exporter will stop working when the Ingestion API is discontinued on July 20, 2027.

Restart the Bindplane agent to apply the changes

1. To restart the Bindplane agent in Linux, run the following command:

   /opt/observiq-otel-collector/config.yaml
   

2. To restart the Bindplane agent in Windows, you can either use the Services console or enter the following command:

   net stop BindPlaneAgent && net start BindPlaneAgent
   

Configure Sophos Central API access

1. Sign in to Sophos Central Admin.
2. Select Global Settings > API Token Management.
3. Click Add Token to create a new token.
4. Enter a token name and click Save. The API Token Summary for the provided token is displayed.
5. In the API Token Summary section, click Copy to copy the API access URL and headers.

Install Python on the additional machine

1. Open the web browser and go to the Python website.
2. Click Download Python for your operating system (Windows or Mac).

3. Install Python:

   • On Windows:
     1. Run the installer.
     2. Check the box that says Add Python to PATH.
     3. Click Install Now.
   • On Mac:
     1. Python may already be installed; if not, you can install the latest version using the terminal.
     2. Open Terminal and type the following command to verify:

   python --version
   

Download the Sophos integration script

1. Go to the GitHub page for the Sophos Central SIEM Integration Repository.
2. Click the green Code button > Download ZIP.
3. Extract the ZIP file.

Set up the script configuration

1. Find and open the config.ini file with a text editor.
2. Edit the configuration file:
   • API Token: Enter the API Key copied earlier from Sophos Central.
   • Syslog Server Details: Enter the details of your syslog server.
   • Host: Enter the Bindplane IP address.
   • Port: Enter the Bindplane port number.
   • Protocol: Enter UDP (you can also use TCP or TLS depending on your setup).
3. Save the file.

Run the script

1. Go to the script folder.
   • On Windows:
     1. Press the Windows key and type cmd.
     2. Click Command Prompt.
     3. Navigate to the folder: cmd cd C:\Users\YourName\Downloads\Sophos-Central-SIEM-Integration
   • On macOS:
     1. Go to Applications > Utilities.
     2. Open Terminal.
     3. Navigate to the folder: bash cd /Users/YourName/Downloads/Sophos-Central-SIEM-Integration

2. Run the script:

   • Type the following command to start the script:

   python siem.py
   

   Note: The script will start fetching logs from Sophos Central and forwarding them to your syslog server in JSON format.

Automate the script to run continuously

On Windows (using Task Scheduler)

1. Open the Task Scheduler by typing "Task Scheduler" in the Start menu.
2. Click Create Task.
3. In the General tab:
   • Name your task (e.g., Sophos Central Log Export).
4. In the Triggers tab:
   • Click New and set the task to run Daily or At startup.
5. In the Actions tab:
   • Click New and select Start a program.
   • Browse for the python.exe executable (usually found at C:\PythonXX\python.exe).
   • In the Add arguments field, type the path to the script (e.g., C:\Users\YourName\Downloads\Sophos-Central-SIEM-Integration\siem.py).
6. Click OK to save the task.

On Mac (using Cron Jobs)

1. Open the Terminal.
2. Type crontab -e and press Enter.

3. Add a new line at the end of the file:

   * * * * * /usr/bin/python /Users/YourName/Downloads/Sophos-Central-SIEM-Integration/siem.py
   

   Note: This will run the script every minute. Adjust the time based on your needs.

4. Save and exit the editor.

UDM Mapping Table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
created_at_label	additional.fields	Merged
datastream_label	additional.fields	Merged
security_result.description	metadata.description	Renamed/mapped
end	metadata.event_timestamp	Parsed as RFC 3339
when	metadata.event_timestamp	Parsed as RFC 3339
has_principal	metadata.event_type	Mapped: true → FILE_OPEN, true → NETWORK_CONNECTION, true → SCAN_UNCATEGORIZED
type	metadata.event_type	Mapped values (14 total, e.g. Event::Endpoint::DataLossPreventionAutomaticallyAllowed → `F...
type	metadata.product_event_type	Directly mapped
type	network.direction	Mapped: Event::Endpoint::WebControlViolation → OUTBOUND, `Event::Endpoint::WindowsFirewa...
type	network.ip_protocol	Mapped: Event::Endpoint::WebControlViolation → TCP
dhost	principal.asset.hostname	Directly mapped
location	principal.asset.hostname	Directly mapped
data.source_info.ip	principal.asset.ip	Merged
source_info.ip	principal.asset.ip	Merged
dhost	principal.hostname	Directly mapped
location	principal.hostname	Directly mapped
data.source_info.ip	principal.ip	Merged
source_info.ip	principal.ip	Merged
type	principal.user.attribute.labels	Mapped: Event::Endpoint::DataLossPreventionAutomaticallyAllowed → username_label
username_label	principal.user.attribute.labels	Merged
Username	principal.user.user_display_name	Directly mapped
source	principal.user.user_display_name	Directly mapped
source	principal.user.userid	Directly mapped
suser	principal.user.userid	Directly mapped
user_id	principal.user.userid	Directly mapped
endpoint_type_label	security_result.about.labels	Merged
sec_action	security_result.action	Merged
type	security_result.action	Mapped: Event::Endpoint::DataLossPreventionAutomaticallyAllowed → sec_action, `Event::En...
group	security_result.category_details	Merged
name	security_result.description	Directly mapped
type	security_result.description	Mapped: Event::Endpoint::(UpdateRebootRequired/ServiceNotRunning/NonCompliant/OutOfDate) →...
duid_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
id_label	security_result.detection_fields	Merged
rule	security_result.rule_name	Directly mapped
rules	security_result.rule_name	Directly mapped
severity	security_result.severity	Mapped: low → LOW, medium → MEDIUM, high → HIGH
security_result.description	security_result.summary	Renamed/mapped
app	target.application	Directly mapped
application	target.application	Directly mapped
dhost	target.asset.hostname	Directly mapped
endpoint_id	target.asset_id	Directly mapped
f_path	target.file.full_path	Directly mapped
f_size	target.file.size	Renamed/mapped
dhost	target.hostname	Directly mapped
application	target.process.file.full_path	Directly mapped
core_remedy_items.items.0.descriptor	target.process.file.full_path	Directly mapped
data.core_remedy_items.items.0.descriptor	target.process.file.full_path	Directly mapped
file_path_1	target.process.file.full_path	Directly mapped
customer_id	target.resource.id	Directly mapped
p_device	target.resource.name	Directly mapped
scan_name	target.resource.name	Directly mapped
type	target.resource.name	Mapped: Event::Endpoint::SavDisabled → Real time protection, `Event::Endpoint::Registere...
type	target.resource.type	Mapped values (5 total, e.g. Event::Endpoint::SavDisabled → SETTING, `Event::Endpoint::R...
url	target.url	Directly mapped
principal.user.userid	target.user.userid	Directly mapped
suser	target.user.userid	Directly mapped
N/A	metadata.event_type	Constant: GENERIC_EVENT
N/A	metadata.product_name	Constant: Sophos Central
N/A	metadata.vendor_name	Constant: Sophos
N/A	network.direction	Constant: OUTBOUND
N/A	network.ip_protocol	Constant: TCP
N/A	security_result.description	Constant: security_result.summary
N/A	security_result.severity	Constant: LOW
N/A	target.resource.name	Constant: Real time protection
N/A	target.resource.type	Constant: SETTING

Change Log

View the Change Log for this parser

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