Collect Zscaler NSS Feeds for Alerts logs

Supported in:

Google SecOps SIEM

This document explains how to ingest Zscaler NSS Feeds for Alerts logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

Zscaler Nanolog Streaming Service (NSS) delivers cloud security alert logs for web, firewall, and DLP events. NSS streams logs from the Zscaler cloud to a designated destination using either Cloud NSS (cloud-native) or NSS VM (on-premises virtual appliance).

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 Zscaler NSS output
• If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
• Privileged access to the Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) admin portal
• A configured Zscaler NSS server or NSS for Cloud with permissions to stream logs

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 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 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/zscaler_nss:
      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: ZSCALER_NSS_FEEDS
      raw_log_field: body
  
  service:
    pipelines:
      logs/zscaler_nss_to_chronicle:
        receivers:
          - tcplog
        exporters:
          - chronicle/zscaler_nss
  

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/zscaler_nss:
      compression: gzip
      creds_file_path: '/opt/observiq-otel-collector/ingestion-auth.json'
      customer_id: '<customer_id>'
      endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      log_type: ZSCALER_NSS_FEEDS
      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 Zscaler NSS syslog forwarding

Zscaler NSS streams logs from the Zscaler cloud to a designated destination. Choose the option that matches your environment.

Option 1: Configure Cloud NSS Feeds (recommended)

Note: Cloud NSS is disabled by default in ZIA. If you do not see the Cloud NSS Feeds option in your ZIA environment, create a support request with Zscaler support to enable it.

1. Sign in to the Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA) admin portal.
2. Go to Administration > Nanolog Streaming Service > Cloud NSS Feeds.
3. Click Add Cloud NSS Feed.
4. Configure the following parameters:
   • Feed Name: Enter a descriptive name (for example, NSS-Alerts-to-Chronicle).
   • NSS Type: Select the log type: NSS for Alerts.
   • SIEM Type: Select Other for generic syslog-based ingestion.
   • Status: Select Enabled.
   • API URL: Enter the IP address and port of the Bindplane agent host (for example, http://BINDPLANE_AGENT_IP:514).
   • Feed Output Type: Select JSON (recommended for Chronicle ingestion).
   • Timezone: Select GMT (default).
5. (Optional) Configure Feed Output Filters to include only specific log fields or to filter logs by criteria such as department, location, or action.
6. Click Save.

7. Click Activate to activate the pending configuration changes.

   Note: Each Cloud NSS feed can stream one log type. Create separate feeds for each log type you want to ingest (for example, one feed for Web logs and another for Alerts).

Option 2: Deploy and configure NSS VM (on-premises)

1. Download the NSS VM image from the Zscaler admin portal:
   1. Go to Administration > Nanolog Streaming Service > NSS Servers.
   2. Download the NSS OVA (for VMware) or VHD (for Hyper-V/Azure) image.
2. Deploy the NSS VM in your hypervisor (VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, or Azure):
   1. Import the downloaded image and configure the VM with the recommended resources (consult the NSS Deployment Guides for your platform).
   2. Configure network settings so the NSS VM can make outbound TLS connections to the Zscaler cloud.
3. Register the NSS VM in the ZIA admin portal:
   1. Go to Administration > Nanolog Streaming Service > NSS Servers.
   2. Verify that the NSS VM appears and its State column shows Healthy.
4. Configure NSS feeds:
   1. Go to Administration > Nanolog Streaming Service > NSS Feeds.
   2. Click Add NSS Feed.
   3. Configure the following parameters:
      • Feed Name: Enter a descriptive name (for example, NSS-Alerts-Feed).
      • NSS Server: Select the deployed NSS VM.
      • NSS Type: Select the log type: NSS for Alerts.
      • SIEM IP Address: Enter the IP address of the Bindplane agent host.
      • SIEM TCP Port: Enter 514 (or the port configured in the Bindplane agent).
      • Feed Output Type: Select JSON (recommended).
   4. (Optional) Configure Feed Filters to limit which log entries are streamed.
   5. Click Save.

5. Click Activate to activate the pending configuration changes.

   Note: Each NSS VM supports up to 8 data feeds. The NSS VM connects to the Zscaler Nanolog cluster over an outbound TLS connection, decodes the compressed logs, and forwards them to the Bindplane agent over TCP.

UDM mapping table

Log Field	UDM Mapping	Logic
additional	additional	Additional information for the event
meta.slt.node, meta.slt.pipeline, meta.customer, meta.source.type	additional.fields	Additional metadata fields not covered by other UDM fields
	metadata.event_type	Type of event
network	network	Network information for the event
principal	principal	Principal entity involved in the event
meta.source.host	principal.asset.hostname	Hostname of the asset associated with the principal
meta.source.host	principal.hostname	Hostname of the principal
meta.source.port	principal.port	Port number
security_result	security_result	Security result information
target	target	Target entity involved in the event
meta.proxy.host	target.asset.hostname	Hostname of the asset associated with the target
meta.proxy.host	target.hostname	Hostname of the target
meta.proxy.port	target.port	Port number
	metadata.product_name	Name of the product
	metadata.vendor_name	Name of the vendor

Change Log

View the Change Log for this parser

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