Collect Automation Anywhere logs

Supported in:

This document explains how you to ingest Automation Anywhere logs to Google Security Operations by using a Bindplane agent. The parser extracts key information from SYSLOG + KV format logs, transforms it into a structured format, and maps it to the Unified Data Model (UDM) fields, enabling standardized security analysis and event correlation. It specifically focuses on identifying user actions, resource interactions, and security outcomes from the log data.

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 Automation Anywhere.

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

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: AUTOMATION_ANYWHERE
            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 Syslog on Automation Anywhere

  1. Sign in to the Automation Anywhere Control Room web UI.
  2. Go to Administration > Settings > Network settings.
  3. Click plus (+).
  4. Provide the syslog configuration details:
    • Syslog server: Bindplane IP address.
    • Port: Bindplane port number (for example, 514 for UDP).
    • Protocol: Select UDP.
    • Optional: User Secure Connection: This configuration is available only for TCP communication.
  5. Click Save changes.

UDM Mapping Table

Log Field UDM Mapping Logic
ACTIVITY AT metadata.event_timestamp The timestamp of the event is taken from the ACTIVITY AT field in the raw log.
ACTION TAKEN BY target.user.userid The user who performed the action is taken from the ACTION TAKEN BY field in the raw log.
ACTION TYPE security_result.summary A summary of the action taken is taken from the ACTION TYPE field in the raw log.
ITEM NAME target.file.full_path The name of the file or item involved in the event is taken from the ITEM NAME field in the raw log.
REQUEST ID target.user.product_object_id A unique identifier for the request is taken from the REQUEST ID field in the raw log.
SOURCE metadata.product_event_type The source of the event is taken from the SOURCE field in the raw log.
SOURCE DEVICE target.hostname | target.ip If the SOURCE DEVICE field contains a valid IP address, it is mapped to target.ip. Otherwise, it is mapped to target.hostname.
STATUS security_result.action The security action (ALLOW, BLOCK, UNKNOWN_ACTION) is determined based on the STATUS field in the raw log: Successful maps to ALLOW, Unsuccessful maps to BLOCK, Unknown maps to UNKNOWN_ACTION.
- metadata.event_type The event type is determined based on the ACTION TYPE field in the raw log using a series of regular expression matches. If no match is found, it defaults to GENERIC_EVENT.
- metadata.log_type Set to AUTOMATION_ANYWHERE.
- metadata.product_name Set to AUTOMATION_ANYWHERE.
- metadata.vendor_name Set to AUTOMATION_ANYWHERE.
- extensions.auth An empty object is added for USER_LOGIN events.

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