Collect ExtraHop DNS logs

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest ExtraHop DNS logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane. The parser extracts JSON-formatted logs from a raw message string, handling non-JSON data by dropping the event. Then, it maps specific fields from the extracted JSON to the corresponding fields in the Unified Data Model (UDM) schema, converting data types and handling different DNS response structures to ensure consistent representation.

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, ensure firewall ports are open
  • Privileged access to ExtraHop DNS

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: yaml 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: 'EXTRAHOP_DNS' 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.

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 for ExtraHop Open Data Stream (DNS)

  1. Sign in to the ExtraHop Administration using https://<extrahop-hostname-or-IP-address>/admin.
  1. Go to System Configuration > Open Data Streams.
  2. Click Add Target.
  3. From the Target Type drop-down, select Syslog.
  4. Provide the following configuration details:
    • Name: Enter a unique name to identify the target.
    • Host: Enter the Bindplane agent IP address.
    • Port: Enter the Bindplane agent port number.
    • Protocol: Select UDP, or TCP, depending on your Bindplane configuration.
    • (Optional) Select Local Time to send syslog information with timestamps in the local time zone.
    • Click Test.
  5. Click Save.

UDM Mapping Table

Log Field UDM Mapping Logic
ans.data network.dns.answers.data Extracted from the data field within the answers array in the raw log.
ans.name network.dns.answers.name Extracted from the name field within the answers array in the raw log.
ans.ttl network.dns.answers.ttl Extracted from the ttl field within the answers array in the raw log. Converted to uinteger.
ans.typeNum network.dns.answers.type Extracted from the typeNum field within the answers array in the raw log. Converted to uinteger.
ans_data network.dns.answers.data Extracted from the ans_data field in the raw log when answers array is not present.
ans_name network.dns.answers.name Extracted from the ans_name field in the raw log when answers array is not present.
ans_ttl network.dns.answers.ttl Extracted from the ans_ttl field in the raw log when answers array is not present. Converted to uinteger.
client_ip principal.ip Extracted from the client_ip field in the raw log.
dns_type network.dns.response If the value is 'response' then 'true', otherwise it is not mapped. Converted to boolean.
dst_ip target.ip Extracted from the dst_ip field in the raw log.
ip_or_host intermediary.hostname If ip_or_host is not a valid IP address, it's mapped to intermediary.hostname.
ip_or_host intermediary.ip If ip_or_host is a valid IP address, it's mapped to intermediary.ip.
opcode network.dns.opcode Extracted from the opcode field in the raw log. Mapped to numerical values based on the opcode string (e.g., "QUERY" -> 0). Converted to uinteger.
qname network.dns.questions.name Extracted from the qname field in the raw log.
qtype network.dns.questions.type Extracted from the qtype field in the raw log. Mapped to numerical values based on the record type string (e.g., "A" -> 1). Converted to uinteger.
metadata.event_type Set to NETWORK_DNS.
metadata.log_type Set to EXTRAHOP_DNS.
network.application_protocol Set to DNS.

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