Collect Symantec VIP Enterprise Gateway logs

Supported in:

Google SecOps SIEM

This document explains how to ingest Symantec VIP Enterprise Gateway logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

Symantec VIP (Validation and ID Protection) Enterprise Gateway is a multi-factor authentication solution that generates syslog messages for authentication events, credential validation, LDAP synchronization, and health check activity. The parser extracts fields from JSON-formatted and syslog-formatted logs 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 Symantec VIP Gateway
• If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
• Administrative access to the Symantec VIP Gateway web UI

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.

   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

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.

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

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/symantec_vip:
      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
      creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
      customer_id: '<customer_id>'
      endpoint: chronicle.googleapis.com
      log_type: SYMANTEC_VIP
      raw_log_field: body
  
  service:
    pipelines:
      logs/symantec_vip_to_chronicle:
        receivers:
          - udplog
        exporters:
          - chronicle/symantec_vip
  

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 the service account JSON key file (Option 1):
    • Linux: /opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json
    • Windows: C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json
  • customer_id: Customer ID copied from the Google SecOps console
  • location: 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. See Regional Endpoints for the complete list.
  • project: Replace <PROJECT_NUMBER> with the project number from IAM & Admin > Settings.
  • endpoint: Keep set to chronicle.googleapis.com.

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/symantec_vip:
      compression: gzip
      creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
      customer_id: '<customer_id>'
      endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      log_type: SYMANTEC_VIP
      raw_log_field: body
  

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

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 in Symantec VIP Enterprise Gateway

1. Sign in to the Symantec VIP Gateway web UI.
2. Go to Logs > Syslog Configuration.
3. If configuring Syslog for the first time, select Yes when prompted. If already configured, click Edit.
4. Provide the following configuration details:
   • Syslog Facility: Select LOG_LOCAL0.
   • Syslog Host: Enter the Bindplane agent IP address.
   • Syslog Port: Enter the Bindplane agent port number (for example, 514 for UDP).
5. Click Save.
6. Go to Settings > Console Settings.
7. Provide the following configuration details:
   • Logging Level: Select Info.
   • Enable Syslog: Select Yes.
8. Click Submit.
9. Go to Settings > Health Check Settings.
10. Select Yes to enable the Health Check Service.
11. Provide the following configuration details:
    • Logging Level: Select Info.
    • Enable Syslog: Select Yes.
12. Click Submit.
13. Go to User Store > LDAP Directory Synchronization.
14. Edit the following configuration details:
    • Log Level: Select Info.
    • Enable Syslog: Select Yes.
15. Click Submit.

UDM mapping table

Log field	UDM mapping	Logic
application	read_only_udm.principal.application	Value taken from application field extracted by json filter.
command	read_only_udm.target.process.command_line	Value taken from command field extracted by grok pattern.
credentialType		This field is not directly mapped to the UDM. It is used to derive the value of read_only_udm.extensions.auth.mechanism.
data		This field is not directly mapped to the UDM. It is parsed to extract other fields.
data2		This field is not directly mapped to the UDM. It is parsed to extract other fields.
datetime	read_only_udm.metadata.event_timestamp.seconds read_only_udm.metadata.event_timestamp.nanos	Seconds and nanoseconds since epoch extracted from the datetime field.
desc	read_only_udm.metadata.description	Value taken from desc field extracted by json filter.
description	read_only_udm.security_result.description	Value taken from description field extracted by json filter.
filename	read_only_udm.target.process.file.full_path	Value taken from filename field extracted by grok pattern.
hostname	read_only_udm.principal.hostname	Value taken from hostname field extracted by json filter.
host_name	read_only_udm.intermediary.hostname	Value taken from host_name field extracted by json filter.
log_level		This field is not directly mapped to the UDM. It is used to derive the value of read_only_udm.security_result.severity.
log_type	read_only_udm.metadata.product_event_type	Value taken from log_type field extracted by json filter.
msg		This field is not directly mapped to the UDM. It is parsed to extract other fields.
operation	read_only_udm.security_result.summary	Value taken from operation field extracted by grok pattern.
processid	read_only_udm.target.process.pid	Value taken from processid field extracted by grok pattern.
product	read_only_udm.metadata.product_name	Value taken from product field extracted by json filter.
reason	read_only_udm.metadata.description	Value taken from reason field extracted by grok pattern.
request_id	read_only_udm.target.resource.id	Value taken from request_id field extracted by grok pattern.
src_ip	read_only_udm.principal.ip	Value taken from src_ip field extracted by grok pattern.
status	read_only_udm.metadata.description	Value taken from status field extracted by grok pattern.
summary	read_only_udm.security_result.summary	Value taken from summary field extracted by json filter.
timestamp.nanos	read_only_udm.metadata.event_timestamp.nanos	Nanoseconds from the original log timestamp.
timestamp.seconds	read_only_udm.metadata.event_timestamp.seconds	Seconds from the original log timestamp.
time		This field is not directly mapped to the UDM. It is used to derive the values of read_only_udm.metadata.event_timestamp.seconds and read_only_udm.metadata.event_timestamp.nanos.
user	read_only_udm.target.user.userid	Value taken from user field extracted by json filter or grok pattern.
vendor	read_only_udm.metadata.vendor_name	Value taken from vendor field extracted by json filter.
	read_only_udm.extensions.auth.mechanism	Determined by the credentialType field. If credentialType is SMS_OTP or STANDARD_OTP, then OTP is used. If credentialType matches the regular expression PASSWORD, then USERNAME_PASSWORD is used.
	read_only_udm.extensions.auth.type	If the reason field matches the regular expression LDAP, then SSO is used. Otherwise, AUTHTYPE_UNSPECIFIED is used.
	read_only_udm.metadata.event_type	Determined by the presence of certain fields. If user or processid is not empty, then USER_LOGIN is used. If user is empty and src_ip is not empty or 0.0.0.0, then STATUS_UPDATE is used. Otherwise, GENERIC_EVENT is used.
	read_only_udm.metadata.log_type	Hardcoded to SYMANTEC_VIP.
	read_only_udm.security_result.action	Determined by the status field. If status is Authentication Success, GRANTED, Authentication Completed, After Services Authenticate call, or CHALLENGED, then ALLOW is used. If status is DENIED, Acces-Reject, Unknown Error, Service Unavailable, or FAILED, then BLOCK is used. If status is PUSH request sent for user or Trying to fetch attribute, then QUARANTINE is used.
	read_only_udm.security_result.severity	Determined by the log_level field. If log_level is DEBUG, INFO, or AUDIT, then INFORMATIONAL is used. If log_level is ERROR, then ERROR is used. If log_level is WARNING, then MEDIUM is used.

Change Log

View the Change Log for this parser

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