Collect FileZilla FTP logs

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest FileZilla logs to Google Security Operations using Bindplane. The Logstash parser code extracts relevant fields like timestamps, hostnames, user IDs, and descriptions from FileZilla FTP server logs. It then structures these extracted fields into a Unified Data Model (UDM) for consistent security analysis and correlation.

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
  • Privileged access to an instance of FileZilla Server

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 on FileZilla Server instance

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:
    filelog:
        # Adjust the path to the log file
        file_path: <PATH_TO>/filezilla-logs.log
        log_type: 'file'

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
        ingestion_labels:
            log_type: 'FILEZILLA_FTP'
            raw_log_field: body

service:
    pipelines:
        logs/source0__chronicle_w_labels-0:
            receivers:
              - filelog
            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 logging in FileZilla

  1. Sign in to the server with FileZilla.
  2. Open the FileZilla software.
  3. Go to Edit > Settings.
  4. Select Logging from the menu.
  5. Provide the following configuration details:
    • Select the checkbox Show timestamps in messagebox.
    • Select the checkbox Log to file.
    • Filename: Enter a filename and select the storage path (for example, filezilla-logs).
    • Optional: Limit size of logfile: Select this checkbox to limit the amount of space a log file can use.
    • Optional: Limit: You can enter a max file size for your log file here in Megabytes.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Restart FileZilla.

UDM mapping table

Log field UDM mapping Logic
data read_only_udm.metadata.description The raw log data field content.
data read_only_udm.metadata.event_timestamp.seconds Extracted from the data field using a grok pattern and converted to epoch seconds.
data read_only_udm.network.http.response_code Extracted from the data field using a grok pattern.
data read_only_udm.principal.hostname Extracted from the data field using a grok pattern.
data read_only_udm.principal.port Extracted from the data field using a grok pattern.
data read_only_udm.principal.user.userid Extracted from the data field using a grok pattern, only if the value is not not logged in.
data read_only_udm.target.ip Extracted from the data field using a grok pattern.
data read_only_udm.target.process.pid Extracted from the data field using a grok pattern.
read_only_udm.metadata.event_type Set to NETWORK_FTP if target.ip exists, otherwise set to GENERIC_EVENT.
read_only_udm.metadata.log_type Set to FILEZILLA_FTP.
read_only_udm.metadata.product_name Set to FILEZILLA.
read_only_udm.metadata.vendor_name Set to FILEZILLA.

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