Zeek

Ship your Zeek logs using Filebeat to your Logit.io Stack

Follow the steps below to send your observability data to Logit.io

Logs

Configure Zeek to ship logs via Filebeat to your Logit.io stacks via Logstash.

Install Integration

Please click on the Install Integration button to configure your stack for this source.

Install Filebeat

To get started you will need to install filebeat. To do this you have two main options:

Choose the filebeat (opens in a new tab) ZIP file (Windows ZIP x86_64) or
Choose the Microsoft Software Installer MSI (opens in a new tab) file (Windows MSI x86_64 (beta))

To successfully install filebeat and set up the required Windows service you will need to have administrator access.

If you have chosen to download the zip file:

Extract the contents of the zip file into C:\Program Files.
Rename the extracted folder to filebeat
Open a PowerShell prompt as an Administrator (right-click the PowerShell icon and select Run As Administrator).
From the PowerShell prompt, run the following commands to install filebeat as a Windows service:

cd 'C:\Program Files\filebeat'

.\install-service-filebeat.ps1

If script execution is disabled on your system, you need to set the execution policy for the current session to allow the script to run. For example:

PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy UnRestricted -File .\install-service-filebeat.ps1

For more information about Powershell execution policies see here (opens in a new tab).

If you have chosen to download the filebeat.msi file:

double-click on it and the relevant files will be downloaded.

At the end of the installation process you'll be given the option to open the folder where filebeat has been installed.

Open a PowerShell prompt as an Administrator (right-click the PowerShell icon and select Run As Administrator).
From the PowerShell prompt, change directory to the location where filebeat was installed and run the following command to install filebeat as a Windows service:

.\install-service-filebeat.ps1

If script execution is disabled on your system, you need to set the execution policy for the current session to allow the script to run. For example:

PowerShell.exe -ExecutionPolicy UnRestricted -File .\install-service-filebeat.ps1

For more information about Powershell execution policies see here (opens in a new tab).

Configure Zeek Logging

Depending on the version of Zeek or Bro (Zeek's predecessor) you are running, the configuration filepath may vary. If you need assistance in locating the file, refer to your installation's documentation (opens in a new tab).

For Bro, the configuration file should be named ascii.bro or if you are using Zeek, the filename will be ascii.zeek.

Once you have located the configuration file, you need to find the line that starts with const use_json. Set the value of this line to true (T) to enable the use of JSON format for output.

const use_json = T

Configure Filebeat.yml

The configuration file below is pre-configured to send data to your Logit.io Stack.

Copy the configuration file below and overwrite the contents of the Filebeat configuration file typically located at /etc/filebeat/filebeat.yml

####################### Logit.io Filebeat Configuration ########################
# ============================== Filebeat inputs ===============================
filebeat.inputs:
- type: filestream
  enabled: true
  paths:
  - "/var/log/bro/current/dns.log"
  - "/var/log/bro/current/dpd.log"
  - "/var/log/bro/current/http.log"
  - "/var/log/bro/current/rdp.log"
  - "/var/log/bro/current/smb.log"
  - "/var/log/bro/current/ssh.log"
  - "/var/log/bro/current/ssl.log"
  - "/var/log/bro/current/conn.log"
  - "/var/log/bro/current/notice.log"
 
  fields:
    type: "zeek"
  fields_under_root: true
  encoding: utf-8
  ignore_older: 12h
 
# ================================== Outputs ===================================
output.logstash:
  hosts: ["@logstash.host:@logstash.sslPort"]
  loadbalance: true
  ssl.enabled: true

Validate configuration

In the directory where Filebeat is installed, run the following command to validate the installation:

.\@beatname.exe test config -c @beatname.yml

If the yml file is invalid, @beatname will print a description of the error. For example, if the output.logstash section was missing, @beatname would print no outputs are defined, please define one under the output section

Start Filebeat

To start Filebeat, run in Powershell:

Start-Service filebeat

Launch Logit.io to view your logs

Data should now have been sent to your Stack.

View My Data

If you don't see take a look at How to diagnose no data in Stack below for how to diagnose common issues.

How to diagnose no data in Stack

If you don't see data appearing in your stack after following this integration, take a look at the troubleshooting guide for steps to diagnose and resolve the problem or contact our support team and we'll be happy to assist.

Zeek Overview

Zeek (formerly known as Bro) is a free, open-source network security monitoring solution that provides comprehensive threat detection and analysis capabilities. To effectively monitor and analyze security events, it's essential to have a reliable and efficient log management solution. Zeek can be configured to generate logs in various formats, including ASCII and JSON, depending on the desired output.

To send Zeek logs to Logstash for processing and analysis, organizations can use Filebeat, an open-source log shipper. Filebeat can be configured to monitor the Zeek logs directory and send any new logs to Logstash, where they can be processed and analyzed for real-time threat detection and response.

The configuration file path and filename for Zeek may vary depending on the specific installation and version. You can refer to your installation's documentation to find the location of the configuration file. In the configuration file, you need to set the "LogAscii::use_json" variable to "T" (true) to generate logs in JSON format.

Once the logs are generated in the desired format, Filebeat can be used to securely transfer them to Logstash for processing and analysis. Logstash can leverage various plugins and modules to filter, transform, and enhance the data, enabling advanced correlation and analysis to identify potential security threats.

Using Zeek with Filebeat and Logstash provides organizations with a powerful network security monitoring solution that can detect and respond to security incidents in real-time, while also maintaining compliance with industry regulations and standards. By leveraging various agents and modules, organizations can collect and analyze data from various sources, gain valuable insights into their network security posture, and make informed decisions to improve their overall security stance.

If you need any further assistance with migrating your log data to ELK we're here to help you get started. Feel free to get in contact with our support team by sending us a message via live chat and we'll be happy to assist.

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