Collect Avigilon Access Control Manager logs

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest Avigilon Access Control Manager logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane.

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
  • Avigilon Access Control Manager 6.38 or above, or a Unity Access 7.x appliance
  • Events – Generic XML license (AC-SW-LIC-XML) applied
  • Privileged access to the Avigilon Access Control Manager web console

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

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

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_file_path: '/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
            log_type: 'AVIGILON_ACCESS_LOGS'
            raw_log_field: body
            ingestion_labels:
    
    service:
        pipelines:
            logs/source0__chronicle_w_labels-0:
                receivers:
                    - udplog
                exporters:
                    - chronicle/chronicle_w_labels
    
    • Replace the port and IP address as required in your infrastructure.
    • Replace <customer_id> with the actual customer ID.
    • 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 Events XML for Avigilon Access Manager

  1. Sign in to the Avigilon ACM web UI.
  2. Go to Settings > Collaborations > Add Collaboration.
  3. Select the corresponding Appliance.
  4. Set Type to Events – Generic XML.
  5. Provide the following configuration details:
    • Name: Enter a unique name for this collaboration.
    • Host: Enter the Bindplane agent IP address.
    • Port Number: Enter the Bindplane agent port number.
    • Select the Installed checkbox to enable this configuration.
    • Select the Require TCP checkbox.
  6. Click Save.
  7. Select the Events tab.
  8. Select a Schedule for when the XML events collaboration will be active.
  9. Select the Send Acknowledgments checkbox to include acknowledgments.
  10. Select the Send Clears checkbox to include clears.
  11. In the Members section, select the event categories to export.
  12. Click Save.

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