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    Collect Windows Network Policy Server logs

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    This document explains how to ingest Windows Network Policy Server (NPS) logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane.

    Windows Network Policy Server (NPS) is a Microsoft RADIUS server that generates authentication, authorization, and accounting logs for network access control. The Bindplane agent collects NPS accounting log files and exported event logs directly from the local file system.

    Before you begin

    Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

    • A Google SecOps instance
    • Windows Server 2016 or later with observiq-otel-collector service support
    • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
    • Administrative access to the Windows Server with the Network Policy Server role installed

    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 Windows 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.

    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

    • 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 
 : 
  
 filelog 
 : 
  
 include 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles\IN*.log 
  
 start_at 
 : 
  
 beginning 
 exporters 
 : 
  
 chronicle/windows_nps 
 : 
  
 compression 
 : 
  
 gzip 
  
 creds_file_path 
 : 
  
 'C:\Program 
  
 Files\observIQ 
  
 OpenTelemetry 
  
 Collector\ingestion-auth.json' 
  
 customer_id 
 : 
  
 '<customer_id>' 
  
 endpoint 
 : 
  
 malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com 
  
 log_type 
 : 
  
 WINDOWS_NET_POLICY_SERVER 
  
 raw_log_field 
 : 
  
 body 
  
 ingestion_labels 
 : 
  
 env 
 : 
  
 production 
 service 
 : 
  
 pipelines 
 : 
  
 logs/nps_to_chronicle 
 : 
  
 receivers 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 filelog 
  
 exporters 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 chronicle/windows_nps

    Configuration parameters

    Replace the following placeholders:

    • Receiver configuration:

      • filelog : The receiver type for collecting log files from disk
      • include : List of file paths to monitor. Set this to the location of NPS accounting log files (for example, C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles\IN*.log ) or exported event logs (for example, C:\Logs\nps\*.evtx )
      • start_at : Set to beginning to read existing logs or end to only read new entries

    • Exporter configuration:

      • windows_nps : Descriptive name for the exporter
      • creds_file_path : Full path to ingestion authentication file:
        • Windows: C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\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
      • WINDOWS_NET_POLICY_SERVER : Log type exactly as it appears in Chronicle
      • ingestion_labels : Optional labels in YAML format (for example, env: production )

    • Pipeline configuration:

      • nps_to_chronicle : Descriptive name for the pipeline

    Save the configuration file

    • After editing, save the file:
      • Windows: Click File > Save

    Restart the Bindplane agent to apply the changes

    To restart the Bindplane agent in Windows:

    1. 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.

    2. Verify the service is running:

       sc query observiq-otel-collector

    3. Check logs for errors:

        type 
  
 "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\log\collector.log"

    Configure Windows NPS log export

    Windows NPS generates two types of logs: NPS accounting log files (IAS format) stored on disk and NPS-related events in the Windows Event Log. You can collect either or both.

    Option 1: Collect NPS accounting log files (default)

    NPS accounting log files are stored by default at C:\Windows\System32\LogFiles\` with filenames starting with IN (for example, IN2301.log`).

    1. Open Server Manager > Network Policy Server.
    2. Go to Accounting > Configure Accounting.
    3. Verify that Log to a text file (local)is enabled.
    4. Note the log file directory (default: %systemroot%\system32\LogFiles ).

    5. Ensure the Bindplane agent include path in config.yaml matches the log file location.

    Option 2: Export NPS event logs

    NPS authentication events (Event IDs 6272-6280) are logged in the Windows Security event log.

    1. Create a directory to store the exported log files:

       mkdir C:\Logs\nps

    2. Export NPS-related Security events using wevtutil :

        wevtutil 
  
 epl 
  
 "Security" 
  
 / 
 q 
 : 
 "*[System[Provider[@Name='Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing'] and (EventID>=6272 and EventID<=6280)]]" 
  
 C 
 : 
 \ 
 Logs 
 \ 
 nps 
 \ 
 nps 
 - 
 security 
 . 
 evtx

    3. (Optional) Schedule regular exports using Windows Task Scheduler:

        $action 
 = 
 New-ScheduledTaskAction 
 -Execute 
 "wevtutil" 
 -Argument 
 'epl "Security" /q:"*[System[Provider[@Name=''Microsoft-Windows-Security-Auditing''] and (EventID>=6272 and EventID<=6280)]]" C:\Logs\nps\nps-security.evtx /ow:true' 
 $trigger 
 = 
 New-ScheduledTaskTrigger 
 -RepetitionInterval 
 ( 
 New-TimeSpan 
 -Hours 
 1 
 ) 
 -Once 
 -At 
 ( 
 Get-Date 
 ) 
 Register-ScheduledTask 
 -Action 
 $action 
 -Trigger 
 $trigger 
 -TaskName 
 "ExportNPSLogs" 
 -Description 
 "Export Windows NPS logs for Bindplane agent"

    4. Update the Bindplane agent include path in config.yaml to match:

        include 
 : 
  
 - 
  
 C:\Logs\nps\*.evtx

    Need more help? Get answers from Community members and Google SecOps professionals.

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