Collect Microsoft Exchange logs

This document explains how to ingest Microsoft Exchange logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane. The parser first attempts to interpret the incoming "message" field as JSON. If this fails, it applies a series of Grok patterns and CSV parsing techniques to extract fields from the raw message string, handling various Microsoft Exchange log formats and populating a standardized Unified Data Model (UDM) schema for security analysis.

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

• Google SecOps instance
• Windows 2016 or later, or a Linux host with systemd
• If running behind a proxy, firewall ports are open
• Installed Exchange Services
• Privileged access to Microsoft Windows Exchange

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 ID from the Organization Details section.

Install the Bindplane agent

Windows installation

1. Open the Command Prompt or PowerShell as 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

For additional installation options, consult the installation guide.

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

1. Access the configuration file:
   • Locate the config.yaml file. Typically, it's in the /etc/bindplane-agent/ directory on Linux or in the installation directory on Windows.
   • 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: 'EXCHANGE_MAIL'
               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 Services console or enter the following command:

  net stop BindPlaneAgent && net start BindPlaneAgent
  

Configure MS Exchange events collection and export

1. Sign in to the MS Exchange server machine.
2. Download and Install NXlog on a Windows Server.
3. Go to the NXlog installation path and open the config file.
4. Open the nxlog.conf file located in the conf directory, typically at C:\Program Files\nxlog\conf (Default Installation Path using a text editor.

5. Add the following configuration code:

   <Input eventlog>
       Module    im_msvistalog
   <QueryXML>
   <QueryList>
   <Query Id="0" Path="Application">
   <Select Path="Application">
                       *[System[(Level=1 or Level=2 or Level=3)]]
   </Select>
   <Select Path="System">
                       *[System[(Level=1 or Level=2 or Level=3)]]
   </Select>
   <Select Path="MSExchange Management">*</Select>
   </Query>
   </QueryList>
   </QueryXML>
   </Input>
   
   <Output syslog>
       Module      om_udp
       Host        <bindplane-agent-ip>
       Port        <bindplane-agent-port>
       Exec        to_syslog_bsd();
   </Output>
   
   <Route exchange_to_syslog>
       Path        eventlog => syslog
   </Route>
   

6. Replace <bindplane-agent-ip> and <bindplane-agent-port> with Bindplane configured IP address and port.

7. Start the NXLog service:

   • Open Services (services.msc) on the Windows Server.
   • Find the NXLog service in the list of services.
   • Right-click on NXLog and select Start.

8. Optional: Automate NXLog Startup:

   • Open Services (services.msc).
   • Find NXLog in the list.
   • Right-click and select Properties.
   • Set the Startup type to Automatic.

UDM mapping table

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