Collect Tetragon eBPF audit logs

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest Tetragon eBPF audit logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

Tetragon is an eBPF-based Kubernetes security observability platform for runtime enforcement, process monitoring, and network policy auditing. It generates structured JSON log events on Kubernetes nodes that capture process execution, network connections, and policy violations.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

  • A Google SecOps instance
  • Linux host with systemd
  • Network connectivity between the Bindplane agent and the Kubernetes nodes running Tetragon
  • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
  • A Kubernetes cluster with Tetragon deployed and producing audit logs
  • Access to Tetragon log output on the node file system

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 IDfrom the Organization Detailssection.

Install the Bindplane agent

Install the Bindplane agent on your Linux operating system according to the following instructions.

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 logs and send to Google SecOps

Locate the configuration file

  • Use the following to locate the configuration file:

     sudo  
    nano  
    /etc/bindplane-agent/config.yaml 
    

Edit the configuration file

  • Replace the entire contents of config.yaml with the following configuration:

      receivers 
     : 
      
     filelog 
     : 
      
     include 
     : 
      
     - 
      
     /var/log/tetragon/*.json 
      
     - 
      
     /var/run/cilium/tetragon/tetragon.log 
      
     start_at 
     : 
      
     beginning 
      
     poll_interval 
     : 
      
     5s 
     exporters 
     : 
      
     chronicle/tetragon_ebpf 
     : 
      
     compression 
     : 
      
     gzip 
      
     creds_file_path 
     : 
      
     '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json' 
      
     customer_id 
     : 
      
     '<customer_id>' 
      
     endpoint 
     : 
      
     malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com 
      
     log_type 
     : 
      
     TETRAGON_EBPF_AUDIT_LOGS 
      
     raw_log_field 
     : 
      
     body 
      
     ingestion_labels 
     : 
      
     env 
     : 
      
     production 
     service 
     : 
      
     pipelines 
     : 
      
     logs/tetragon_to_chronicle 
     : 
      
     receivers 
     : 
      
     - 
      
     filelog 
      
     exporters 
     : 
      
     - 
      
     chronicle/tetragon_ebpf 
     
    

Configuration parameters

Replace the following placeholders:

  • Receiver configuration:

    • include : Paths to Tetragon log files:
      • /var/log/tetragon/*.json for default Tetragon JSON export logs
      • /var/run/cilium/tetragon/tetragon.log for the Tetragon daemon log
      • Adjust paths based on your Tetragon deployment and log export configuration
    • start_at : Set to beginning to read existing logs, or end to read only new entries
    • poll_interval : How often to check for new log data (default: 5s )
  • Exporter configuration:

    • tetragon_ebpf : Descriptive name for the exporter
    • creds_file_path : Full path to ingestion authentication file:
      • Linux: /etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json
    • <customer_id> : Customer ID from the previous step
    • 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
    • TETRAGON_EBPF_AUDIT_LOGS : Log type exactly as it appears in Chronicle
    • ingestion_labels : Optional labels in YAML format (for example, env: production )
  • Pipeline configuration:

    • tetragon_to_chronicle : Descriptive name for the pipeline

Save the configuration file

After editing, save the file: * Linux: Press Ctrl+O , then Enter , then Ctrl+X

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 
      

Configure Tetragon log export

Tetragon emits structured JSON events that can be exported to local files for collection by the Bindplane agent.

Export Tetragon events to a log file

  1. If Tetragon is deployed using Helm, configure the export path in the Helm values:

      export 
     : 
      
     stdout 
     : 
      
     enabledCommand 
     : 
      
     true 
      
     enabledArgs 
     : 
      
     true 
      
     filenames 
     : 
      
     - 
      
     /var/log/tetragon/tetragon.json 
     
    
  2. Alternatively, redirect Tetragon events using tetra CLI:

     tetra  
    getevents  
    -o  
    json > 
    /var/log/tetragon/tetragon.json  
    & 
    
  3. Verify that JSON log events are being written to the configured path:

     tail  
    -f  
    /var/log/tetragon/tetragon.json 
    
  4. Ensure the Bindplane agent has read permissions on the Tetragon log directory and files:

     sudo  
    chmod  
    -R  
     644 
      
    /var/log/tetragon/ 
    

UDM mapping table

Log Field UDM Mapping Logic
jsonPayload.node_name, jsonPayload.process_kprobe.action, arg.sock_arg.sport, arg.sock_arg.dport, arg.sock_arg.protocol, jsonPayload.process_kprobe.function_name, labels.k8s-pod/app_kubernetes_io/instance, labels.k8s-pod/app_kubernetes_io/name, labels.k8s-pod/helm_sh/chart, labels.k8s-pod/controller-revision-hash, labels.k8s-pod/app_kubernetes_io/managed-by
additional.fields Merged with labels created from these fields under respective conditions
metadata.event_type Set to "GENERIC_EVENT", then "NETWORK_CONNECTION" if principal_present and target_present, else "STATUS_UPDATE" if principal_present
insertId
metadata.product_log_id Value copied directly
metadata.product_name Set to "TETRAGON_EBPF_AUDIT_LOGS"
metadata.vendor_name Set to "TETRAGON_EBPF_AUDIT_LOGS"
arg.sock_arg.protocol
network.ip_protocol Extracted protocol number using grok pattern 'IPPROTO_%{GREEDYDATA}', mapped to IP protocol enum
arg.sock_arg.saddr
principal.ip Value copied directly (last if multiple args)
arg.sock_arg.sport
principal.port Converted to integer from arg.sock_arg.sport (for index 0)
jsonPayload.process_kprobe.process.cwd
principal.process.file.full_path Value copied directly
jsonPayload.process_kprobe.parent.cwd
principal.process.parent_process.file.full_path Value copied directly
jsonPayload.process_kprobe.parent.pid
principal.process.parent_process.pid Converted to string
jsonPayload.process_kprobe.process.pid
principal.process.pid Converted to string
logName, jsonPayload.process_kprobe.policy_name, jsonPayload.process_kprobe.process.binary, jsonPayload.process_kprobe.process.docker, jsonPayload.process_kprobe.process.exec_id, jsonPayload.process_kprobe.process.flags, jsonPayload.process_kprobe.process.parent_exec_id, jsonPayload.process_kprobe.process.auid, jsonPayload.process_kprobe.process.tid, jsonPayload.process_kprobe.process.uid
security_result.detection_fields Merged with labels created from these fields
severity
security_result.severity Uppercased, set to mapped value if in predefined list or matches Info
severity
security_result.severity_details Set to uppercased severity if not matching predefined
resource.labels.project_id
target.cloud.project.name Value copied directly
arg.sock_arg.daddr
target.ip Value copied directly (last if multiple args)
resource.labels.location
target.location.name Value copied directly
resource.labels.namespace_name
target.namespace Value copied directly
arg.sock_arg.dport
target.port Converted to integer from arg.sock_arg.dport (for index 0)
resource.labels.pod_name, resource.labels.container_name, labels.k8s-pod/app_kubernetes_io/instance, labels.k8s-pod/app_kubernetes_io/name, labels.k8s-pod/helm_sh/chart, labels.k8s-pod/controller-revision-hash, labels.k8s-pod/app_kubernetes_io/managed-by
target.resource.attribute.labels Merged with labels created from these fields
resource.labels.cluster_name
target.resource.name Value copied directly
resource.type
target.resource.resource_subtype Value copied directly

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