Collect Splunk Platform logs

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest Splunk Platform logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane.

Splunk Platform is a data analytics and SIEM platform that collects, indexes, and correlates machine-generated data from various sources. It provides real-time monitoring, alerting, and advanced analytics for security, IT operations, and business intelligence use cases. The parser extracts fields from Splunk JSON formatted logs. It parses the JSON message and then maps these values to the Unified Data Model (UDM). It also sets default metadata values for the event source and type.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

  • A Google SecOps instance
  • Windows Server 2016 or later, or Linux host with systemd
  • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
  • Privileged access to the Splunk Web interface

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. 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 Bindplane agent installation guide.

Configure Bindplane agent to ingest syslog and send to Google SecOps

Locate the configuration file

  • Linux:

    sudo nano /etc/bindplane-agent/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/chronicle_w_labels:
        compression: gzip
        creds_file_path: '/path/to/ingestion-authentication-file.json'
        customer_id: 'YOUR_CUSTOMER_ID'
        endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
        log_type: 'SPLUNK'
        raw_log_field: body
        ingestion_labels:

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

Configuration parameters

  • Replace the following placeholders:

    • Receiver configuration:

      • tcplog: Use udplog for UDP syslog or tcplog for TCP syslog
      • 0.0.0.0: IP address to listen on (0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces)
      • 514: Port number to listen on (standard syslog port)

    • 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
      • YOUR_CUSTOMER_ID: Customer ID from the Get customer ID section
      • 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
      • log_type: Log type exactly as it appears in Chronicle (SPLUNK)

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 Syslog forwarding on Splunk Platform

  1. Sign in to the Splunk Web interface.
  2. Go to Settings > Forwarding and Receiving.
  3. Under Send data, click Add new to create a new forwarding output.

  4. Alternatively, use a Syslog output via a Splunk Add-on or custom configuration:

    • Option A: Using Splunk Add-on for Syslog:

      1. Install the Syslog output add-on from Splunkbase (if not already installed).
      2. Go to Settings > Data outputs > Syslog.
      3. Click New Syslog.
      4. Provide the following configuration details:
        • Name: Enter a descriptive name (for example, Google-SecOps-Bindplane).
        • Syslog Server: Enter BINDPLANE_IP:514.
        • Protocol: Select TCP.
        • Format: Select JSON (recommended for full data fidelity).
      5. In the Filtering section, configure which data to forward:
        • Index: Select the indexes to forward (for example, main, security).
        • Source type: Select specific source types if needed.
      6. Click Save.

    • Option B: Using outputs.conf:

      1. SSH to the Splunk server.

      2. Edit the outputs.conf file (typically at $SPLUNK_HOME/etc/system/local/outputs.conf):

        [syslog:google_secops]
server = BINDPLANE_IP:514
type = tcp
priority = <13>
timestampformat = %b %e %H:%M:%S
        • Replace BINDPLANE_IP with the IP address of the Bindplane agent host.

      3. Restart Splunk to apply the configuration:

        $SPLUNK_HOME/bin/splunk restart

      4. Verify syslog messages are being sent by checking the Bindplane agent logs.

UDM mapping table

Log field UDM mapping
app observer.application
description security_result.description
dest target.ip target.hostname target.labels.key/value (deprecated)
dest_bunit target.labels.key/value (deprecated) additional.fields
dest_category target.labels.key/value (deprecated) additional.fields
dest_priority target.labels.key/value (deprecated) additional.fields
dest_type target.resource.resource_type
id metadata.product_log_id
mitre_technique_id security_result.detection_fields.labels.key/value
severity security_result.severity
severity_id about.labels.key/value (deprecated) additional.fields
signature metadata.description
signature_id security_result.rule_name
src principal.ip principal.hostname principal.labels.key/value (deprecated)
src_bunit principal.labels.key/value (deprecated) additional.fields
src_category principal.labels.key/value (deprecated) additional.fields
src_priority principal.labels.key/value (deprecated) additional.fields
src_type principal.resource.resource_type
tag about.labels.key/value (deprecated) additional.fields
type security_result.alert_state
user principal.user.user_display_name
user_bunit about.labels.key/value (deprecated) additional.fields
user_category principal.user.attribute.labels.key/value
user_name principal.user.userid
user_priority principal.user.attribute.label.key/value
vendor_account about.labels.key/value (deprecated) additional.fields
vendor_region about.location.country_or_region

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