Collect Fortra Powertech SIEM Agent logs

This guide explains how you can ingest Fortra Powertech SIEM Agent for IBM i logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane agent.

Powertech SIEM Agent for IBM i (formerly Powertech Interact) monitors IBM i journals and message queues for critical system messages and audit entries, transmits the messages using UDP, TCP, TLS, message queue, or stream file (IFS), and formats the MSG portion of the syslog packet in compliance with Micro Focus ArcSight Common Event Format (CEF) v25.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

• Google SecOps instance.
• Windows Server 2016 or later, or Linux host with systemd.
• Network connectivity between Bindplane agent and the IBM i system running Powertech SIEM Agent.
• If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements.
• Privileged access to the IBM i system with authority to configure Powertech SIEM Agent (user profile with *ALLOBJ special authority or member of PTADMIN authorization list).
• Powertech SIEM Agent for IBM i installed and licensed on the IBM i system.

Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file

1. Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
2. Go to SIEM Settings > Collection Agent.
3. Click Downloadto download the ingestion authentication file.

4. Save the file securely on the system where Bindplane agent 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 IDfrom the Organization Detailssection.

Install 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 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 
 : 
  
 udplog 
 : 
  
 listen_address 
 : 
  
 "0.0.0.0:514" 
 exporters 
 : 
  
 chronicle/powertech_siem 
 : 
  
 compression 
 : 
  
 gzip 
  
 creds_file_path 
 : 
  
 '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json' 
  
 customer_id 
 : 
  
 'YOUR_CUSTOMER_ID' 
  
 endpoint 
 : 
  
 malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com 
  
 log_type 
 : 
  
 FORTRA_POWERTECH_SIEM_AGENT 
  
 raw_log_field 
 : 
  
 body 
  
 ingestion_labels 
 : 
  
 env 
 : 
  
 production 
 service 
 : 
  
 pipelines 
 : 
  
 logs/powertech_to_chronicle 
 : 
  
 receivers 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 udplog 
  
 exporters 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 chronicle/powertech_siem 
 

Configuration parameters

Replace the following placeholders:

Receiver configuration:

• listen_address : IP address and port to listen on. Use 0.0.0.0:514 to listen on all interfaces on port 514, or change the port to 1514 or another value if port 514 requires root privileges or is already in use.

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 : Replace with your Google SecOps customer ID.
• endpoint : Regional endpoint URL. Use the appropriate endpoint for your Google SecOps instance:
  • US: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
  • Europe: europe-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
  • Asia: asia-southeast1-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
  • See Regional Endpoints for complete list.
• ingestion_labels : Optional labels in YAML format (for example, env: production , source: ibm_i ).

Save the configuration file

After editing, save the file:

• Linux: Press Ctrl+O , then Enter , then Ctrl+X
• Windows: Click File > Save

Restart Bindplane agent to apply the changes

• Linux

   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 
     

• Windows

  Choose one of the following options:

  • Using Command Prompt or PowerShell as administrator:

     net stop observiq-otel-collector && net start observiq-otel-collector 
    

  • Using 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 Powertech SIEM Agent syslog forwarding

On the IBM i command line, enter POWERTECH to open the Powertech Main Menu, then choose Option 6 to open the SIEM Agent Main Menu.

Configure the syslog format

From the SIEM Agent Main Menu, choose option 2 to open the Work with Formats panel. CEF, JSON, LEEF, MODERN, and SYSLOG Formats are included by default.

1. Type 2 next to SYSLOG and press Enter.
2. In the Message Style field, type *SYSLOG.
3. In the Header specification field type RFC3164.
4. Ensure that Use Header Format Compatibility is set to 'Y' and save the configuration.

5. Press F3 twice to return to the Main Menu.

Create a network output

From the Main Menu, choose option 3 Work with Outputs, then press F6 to create a new output.

1. Enter the following options:
   • Name: CHRONICLE (or a descriptive name)
   • Description: Chronicle Bindplane Output
   • Active: 1
   • Format: SYSLOG
   • Type: *NETWORK
2. Press Enter.
3. On the subsequent screen, enter these options:
   • Location: Enter the IP address of the machine on which the Bindplane agent is installed
   • Port: 514 (or the port configured in the Bindplane agent)
   • Protocol: UDP

4. Press Enter to save changes, then press F12 to close the window.

Attach the output to event sources

Choose option 1 Work with Event Sources, then type 2 next to AUDIT and press Enter.

1. Press F8 Maintain Outputs, then press F6 Attach to attach the recently created output. Type 1 next to CHRONICLE (or your output name) and press Enter.
2. Press F3 to return to the Main Menu.

Activate event descriptions

From the SIEM Agent Main Menu, choose option 1, then enter 9 for an Event Source. The Work with Event Descriptions panel appears. Use option 6 to activate the events you would like to process.

Commit configuration changes

From the Main Menu, choose option 82, Work with Utilities, then select option 1, Commit configuration changes.

Start SIEM Agent monitoring

If SIEM Agent is not already running, start the monitor jobs:

1. From the IBM i command line, enter:

    CALL PTSTARTUP 
   

2. These commands start the required Central Administration and SIEM Agent monitor jobs in the PTWRKMGT subsystem.

Verify logs are being sent

1. Check that logs are arriving at the Bindplane agent by reviewing the Bindplane agent logs (see the restart section above for log locations).
2. Verify logs are appearing in Google SecOps console (allow 5 to 10 minutes for initial ingestion).
3. Optionally, assign a message queue to log all messages sent by SIEM Agent to confirm which messages have been sent.

UDM mapping table

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