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    Collect CIS Albert alert logs

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    This document explains how to ingest CIS Albert alert logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

    CIS Albert is a managed intrusion detection service from the Center for Internet Security (CIS) designed for state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) government organizations. Albert sensors monitor network traffic and generate alerts about malicious activity, including IP-based and DNS-based threat detection with an average SOC response time of under five minutes.

    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 CIS Albert sensor
    • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
    • An active CIS Albert subscription with access to the CIS Portal
    • Privileged access to configure syslog forwarding on the Albert sensor or CIS Portal

    Get a 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 a Google SecOps customer ID

    1. Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
    2. Go to SIEM Settings > Profile.

    3. Copy and save the Customer IDfrom the Organization Detailssection.

    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 Promptor PowerShellas 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 
 : 
  
 udplog 
 : 
  
 listen_address 
 : 
  
 "0.0.0.0:514" 
 exporters 
 : 
  
 chronicle/cis_albert 
 : 
  
 compression 
 : 
  
 gzip 
  
 creds_file_path 
 : 
  
 '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json' 
  
 customer_id 
 : 
  
 '<customer_id>' 
  
 endpoint 
 : 
  
 malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com 
  
 log_type 
 : 
  
 CIS_ALBERT_ALERT 
  
 raw_log_field 
 : 
  
 body 
 service 
 : 
  
 pipelines 
 : 
  
 logs/cis_albert_to_chronicle 
 : 
  
 receivers 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 udplog 
  
 exporters 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 chronicle/cis_albert

    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 ingestion authentication file:
        • Linux: /etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json
        • Windows: C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json
      • customer_id : Customer ID copied from the Google SecOps console
      • 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 CIS Albert syslog forwarding

    Albert sensors generate alerts that are analyzed by the CIS Security Operations Center (SOC). To forward these alerts to the Bindplane agent, coordinate with CIS to configure syslog output from your Albert sensor.

    1. Sign in to the CIS Portal .
    2. Navigate to My Organization > Manage Products, Services and Resources.
    3. Contact CIS SOC to request syslog forwarding configuration for your Albert sensor.
    4. Provide the following details to the CIS SOC:
      • Syslog Server: Enter the IP address of the Bindplane agent host (for example, 192.168.1.100 ).
      • Port: Enter 514 .
      • Protocol: Select UDP.
      • Format: Request BSD(RFC 3164) syslog format.
    5. Request that all alert categories are forwarded, including:
      • IP-based alerts
      • DNS-based alerts
      • SOC alert notifications

    6. Verify logs are being received by checking the Bindplane agent logs.

    UDM mapping table

    Log Field UDM Mapping Logic
    sensor
    		 intermediary.hostname Value copied directly
    description
    		 metadata.description Value copied directly
    event_id, has_principal, has_target, sourceip, src_ip
    		 metadata.event_type Set based on event_id values or presence of principals/targets
    event_id
    		 metadata.product_log_id Value copied directly, converted to string
    target_port
    		 network.application_protocol Set to "HTTP" if target_port == 80, "HTTPS" if == 443
    analisys_extension
    		 network.http.user_agent Extracted from analisys_extension using grok pattern
    protocol
    		 network.ip_protocol Value copied directly
    hostname
    		 observer.hostname Value copied directly
    src_ip, sourceip
    		 principal.asset.ip Value from src_ip if not empty, else sourceip
    sensor
    		 principal.hostname Value copied directly
    src_ip, sourceip
    		 principal.ip Value from src_ip if not empty, else sourceip
    principal_port
    		 principal.port Value copied directly, converted to integer
    logical_sensor_id
    		 principal.resource.id Value copied directly
    category
    		 security_result.category Value from category, set based on event_id
    analysis
    		 security_result.description Value copied directly
    queue, activity_summary, siem_event_id, previous_escalations, status
    		 security_result.detection_fields Merged from labels created from queue, activity_summary, siem_event_id, previous_escalations, status
    severity, event_id
    		 security_result.severity Set based on severity value or event_id
    description
    		 security_result.summary Value copied directly
    analisys_extension
    		 security_result.threat_id Extracted from analisys_extension using grok pattern
    description, threat_name
    		 security_result.threat_name Value from threat_name if extracted, else description
    extension, analisys_extension
    		 security_result.url_back_to_product Constructed from extracted URL
    target_ip
    		 target.asset.ip Value copied directly
    target_hostname
    		 target.hostname Value copied directly
    target_ip
    		 target.ip Value copied directly
    target_port
    		 target.port Value copied directly, converted to integer
    		metadata.vendor_name Set to "CIS"
    		metadata.product_name Set to "Albert"

    Change Log

    View the Change Log for this parser

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