Collect Cisco switch logs

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This document explains how to ingest Cisco switch logs to Google Security Operations using a Bindplane agent. The parser extracts fields from SYSLOG messages, mapping them to a unified data model (UDM) based on identified patterns and keywords. It handles a wide range of events, including DHCP, SSH, login attempts, network traffic, and system status updates, categorizing them and enriching the data with relevant security details.

Before you begin

  • Ensure that you have a Google SecOps instance.
  • Ensure that you are using Windows 2016 or later, or a Linux host with systemd .
  • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open.
  • Ensure that you have privileged access to a Cisco switch.

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

Windows installation

  1. Open the 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 
     
    

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 
    

Additional installation resources

Configure the Bindplane agent to ingest Syslog and send to Google SecOps

  1. Access the configuration file:

    1. Locate the config.yaml file. Typically, it's in the /etc/bindplane-agent/ directory on Linux or in the installation directory on Windows.
    2. Open the file using a text editor (for example, nano , vi , or Notepad).
  2. Edit the config.yaml file as follows:

      receivers 
     : 
      
     udplog 
     : 
      
     # Replace the port and IP address as required 
      
     listen_address 
     : 
      
     "0.0.0.0:514" 
     exporters 
     : 
      
     chronicle/chronicle_w_labels 
     : 
      
     compression 
     : 
      
     gzip 
      
     # Adjust the path to the credentials file you downloaded in Step 1 
      
     creds 
     : 
      
     '/path/to/ingestion-authentication-file.json' 
      
     # Replace with your actual customer ID from Step 2 
      
     customer_id 
     : 
      
    < customer_id 
    >  
     endpoint 
     : 
      
     malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com 
      
     # Add optional ingestion labels for better organization 
      
     ingestion_labels 
     : 
      
     log_type 
     : 
      
     CISCO_SWITCH 
      
     raw_log_field 
     : 
      
     body 
     service 
     : 
      
     pipelines 
     : 
      
     logs/source0__chronicle_w_labels-0 
     : 
      
     receivers 
     : 
      
     - 
      
     udplog 
      
     exporters 
     : 
      
     - 
      
     chronicle/chronicle_w_labels 
     
    
  3. Replace the port and IP address as required in your infrastructure.

  4. Replace <customer_id> with the actual customer ID.

  5. Update /path/to/ingestion-authentication-file.json to the path where the authentication file was saved in the Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file section.

Restart the Bindplane agent to apply the changes

  • To restart the Bindplane agent in Linux, run the following command:

     sudo  
    systemctl  
    restart  
    bindplane-agent 
    
  • To restart the Bindplane agent in Windows, you can either use the Servicesconsole or enter the following command:

     net stop BindPlaneAgent && net start BindPlaneAgent 
    

Configure Syslog on a Cisco switch

  1. Sign in to the Cisco Switch.
  2. Escalate privileges by entering the enable command:

     Switch>  
     enable 
    Switch# 
    
  3. Switch to configuration mode by entering the conf t command:

     Switch#  
    conf  
    t
    Switch ( 
    config ) 
     # 
     
    
  4. Enter the following commands:

     logging  
    host  
    <bindplane-server-ip>  
    transport  
    <tcp/udp>  
    port  
    <port-number>
    logging  
    source-interface  
    <interface> 
    
    • Replace <bindplane-server-ip> with the Bindplane Agent IP address, and <port-number> with the configured port.
    • Replace <tcp/udp> with the configured listening protocol on the Bindplane Agent. (For example, udp ).
    • Replace <interface> with the Cisco interface ID.
  5. Set the priority level by entering the following command:

     logging  
     trap 
      
    Informational  
    logging  
    console  
    Informational  
    logging  
    severity  
    Informational 
    
  6. Set the syslog facility:

     logging  
    facility  
    local6 
    
  7. Enable timestamps by entering the following command:

     service  
    timestamps  
    log  
    datetime 
    
  8. Save and exit.

  9. Configure the settings to survive restart by entering the following command:

     copy  
    running-config  
    startup-config 
    

UDM Mapping Table

Log field UDM mapping Logic
action
security_result.action_details Value of this field is derived from the action field in the raw log.
day
description
metadata.description Value of this field is derived from the description field in the raw log.
description
security_result.description Value of this field is derived from the description field in the raw log.
destination_ip
target.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the destination_ip field in the raw log.
destination_ip
target.ip Value of this field is derived from the destination_ip field in the raw log.
destination_port
target.port Value of this field is derived from the destination_port field in the raw log.
device
principal.asset.hostname Value of this field is derived from the device field in the raw log.
device
principal.hostname Value of this field is derived from the device field in the raw log.
device
target.asset.hostname Value of this field is derived from the device field in the raw log.
device
target.hostname Value of this field is derived from the device field in the raw log.
device_ip
principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the device_ip field in the raw log.
device_ip
principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the device_ip field in the raw log.
device_ip
target.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the device_ip field in the raw log.
device_ip
target.ip Value of this field is derived from the device_ip field in the raw log.
facility
principal.resource.type Value of this field is derived from the facility field in the raw log.
header_data
metadata.product_log_id Value of this field is derived from the header_data field in the raw log.
header_data
target.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the header_data field in the raw log.
header_data
target.ip Value of this field is derived from the header_data field in the raw log.
hostname
principal.asset.hostname Value of this field is derived from the hostname field in the raw log.
hostname
principal.hostname Value of this field is derived from the hostname field in the raw log.
ip
principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the ip field in the raw log.
ip
principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the ip field in the raw log.
ip_address
principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the ip_address field in the raw log.
ip_address
principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the ip_address field in the raw log.
ip_protocol
network.ip_protocol Value of this field is derived from the ip_protocol field in the raw log.
mac
principal.mac Value of this field is derived from the mac field in the raw log.
mnemonic
network.dhcp.opcode Value of this field is derived from the mnemonic field in the raw log.
mnemonic
metadata.product_event_type Value of this field is derived from the mnemonic field in the raw log.
month
p_ip
principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the p_ip field in the raw log.
p_ip
principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the p_ip field in the raw log.
port
target.port Value of this field is derived from the port field in the raw log.
priority
protocol
network.ip_protocol Value of this field is derived from the protocol field in the raw log.
reason
rule
security_result.rule_id Value of this field is derived from the rule field in the raw log.
sec_result_action
security_result.action Value of this field is derived from the sec_result_action field in the raw log.
severity
source
principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the source field in the raw log.
source
principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the source field in the raw log.
source_ip
network.dhcp.ciaddr Value of this field is derived from the source_ip field in the raw log.
source_ip
principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the source_ip field in the raw log.
source_ip
principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the source_ip field in the raw log.
source_mac
network.dhcp.chaddr Value of this field is derived from the source_mac field in the raw log.
source_port
principal.port Value of this field is derived from the source_port field in the raw log.
summary
security_result.summary Value of this field is derived from the summary field in the raw log.
time
timezone
user
principal.user.userid Value of this field is derived from the user field in the raw log.
user
target.user.userid Value of this field is derived from the user field in the raw log.
when
year
extensions.auth.type MACHINE
metadata.log_type CISCO_SWITCH
metadata.vendor_name Cisco
metadata.product_name Cisco Switch
network.application_protocol DHCP
network.dhcp.type REQUEST

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