Trellix Helix collector

[ 1 Devo collector features ] [ 2 Data sources ] [ 3 Flattening preprocessing ] [ 4 Minimum configuration required for basic pulling ] [ 5 Accepted authentication methods ] [ 6 Run the collector ] [ 7 Collector services detail ] [ 8 Collector operations ] [ 9 Change log ]

Devo collector features

Feature	Details

Feature	Details
Allow parallel downloading (`multipod`)	`not allowed`
Running environments	`collector server`
Populated Devo events	`table`
Flattening preprocessing	`no`

Data sources

Data source	Description	API endpoint	Collector service name	Devo table	Available from release

Data source	Description	API endpoint	Collector service name	Devo table	Available from release
Alerts	Returns all the alerts sorted by updated time for a specified time interval.	`/helix/id/{instance_id}/api/{api_version}/alerts`	`alerts`	`siem.trellix.helix.alerts`	`v1.0.0`

For more information on how the events are parsed, visit our page.

Flattening preprocessing

Data source	Collector service	Optional	Flattening details

Data source	Collector service	Optional	Flattening details
Alerts	alerts	`yes`	not required

Minimum configuration required for basic pulling

Although this collector supports advanced configuration, the fields required to retrieve data with basic configuration are defined below.

This minimum configuration refers exclusively to those specific parameters of this integration. There are more required parameters related to the generic behavior of the collector. Check setting sections for details.

Setting	Details

Setting	Details
`base_url`	The fireeye API base url to get list of alerts for Helix.
`instance_id`	The id of the Helix instance.
`api_version`	The version of the API that you want to use. (for example v1).
`api_key`	The fireeye API api key used for authorization.

See the Accepted authentication methods section to verify what settings are required based on the desired authentication method.

Accepted authentication methods

Authentication method	API Key	Instance ID	Base Url

Authentication method	API Key	Instance ID	Base Url
apiKey	REQUIRED	REQUIRED	REQUIRED

Run the collector

Once the data source is configured, you can either send us the required information if you want us to host and manage the collector for you (Cloud collector), or deploy and host the collector in your own machine using a Docker image (On-premise collector).

Collector services detail

This section is intended to explain how to proceed with specific actions for services.

Alerts

Once the collector has been launched, it is important to check if the ingestion is performed in a proper way. To do so, go to the collector’s logs console.

This service has the following components:

Component	Description

Component	Description
Setup	The setup module is in charge of authenticating the service and managing the token expiration when needed.
Puller	The setup module is in charge of pulling the data in a organized way and delivering the events via SDK.

Setup output

A successful run has the following output messages for the setup module:

2023-11-10T08:50:40.048    INFO OutputProcess::MainThread -> DevoSenderManager(internal_senders,manager,devo_2) -> Starting thread
2023-11-10T08:50:40.048    INFO OutputProcess::DevoSenderManager(internal_senders,manager,devo_2) -> [EMERGENCY PERSISTENCE SYSTEM] DevoSenderManager(internal_senders,manager,devo_2) -> Nothing retrieved from the persistence.
2023-11-10T08:50:40.049    INFO OutputProcess::OutputInternalConsumer(internal_senders_consumer_0) -> [EMERGENCY PERSISTENCE SYSTEM] OutputInternalConsumer(internal_senders_consumer_0) -> Nothing retrieved from the persistence.
2023-11-10T08:50:40.049    INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> Running overriding rules
2023-11-10T08:50:40.049    INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> Overriding rule #1 - service key <override_tag> with value <my.app.trellix_helix.alerts> overrides definition key <tag> with value <None> when the first is not <None>
2023-11-10T08:50:40.049    INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> Validating the rate limiter config given by the user
2023-11-10T08:50:40.050    INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> Adding raw config to the collector store
2023-11-10T08:50:40.050    INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> Running custom validation rules
2023-11-10T08:50:40.051    INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> Creating API client.
2023-11-10T08:50:40.052    INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> Created request client: <agent.modules.trellix_helix.commons.helix_client.HelixClient object at 0x7ff1ff3db7c0>
2023-11-10T08:50:40.052    INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) Finalizing the execution of init_variables()
2023-11-10T08:50:40.052    INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> InputThread(trellix_helix,12345) - Starting thread (execution_period=60s)
2023-11-10T08:50:40.052    INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> ServiceThread(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) - Starting thread (execution_period=60s)
2023-11-10T08:50:40.053    INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> TrellixHelixPullerSetup(trellix_helix_collector,trellix_helix#12345,alerts#predefined) -> Starting thread
2023-11-10T08:50:40.053    INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) - Starting thread
2023-11-10T08:50:40.053 WARNING InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> Waiting until setup will be executed
2023-11-10T08:50:40.063    INFO OutputProcess::MainThread -> [GC] global: 39.2% -> 39.2%, process: RSS(42.48MiB -> 43.61MiB), VMS(928.07MiB -> 928.07MiB)
2023-11-10T08:50:40.065    INFO InputProcess::MainThread -> [GC] global: 39.2% -> 39.2%, process: RSS(42.14MiB -> 42.14MiB), VMS(424.04MiB -> 424.04MiB)
2023-11-10T08:50:40.610    INFO OutputProcess::DevoSender(internal_senders,devo_sender_0) -> Created a sender: {"name": "DevoSender(internal_senders,devo_sender_0)", "url": "collector-eu.devo.io:443", "chain_path": "/home/nikhilgoyal/devo-collector-trellix-helix/certs/chain.crt", "cert_path": "/home/nikhilgoyal/devo-collector-trellix-helix/certs/int-if-integrations-india.crt", "key_path": "/home/nikhilgoyal/devo-collector-trellix-helix/certs/int-if-integrations-india.key", "transport_layer_type": "SSL", "last_usage_timestamp": null, "socket_status": null}, hostname: "2023-APAC-0050", session_id: "140677399433120"
2023-11-10T08:50:42.127    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPullerSetup(trellix_helix_collector,trellix_helix#12345,alerts#predefined) -> Setup for module <TrellixHelixPuller> has been successfully executed

Puller output

A successful initial run has the following output messages for the puller module:

Note that the PrePull action is executed only one time before the first run of the Pull action.

2023-11-10T08:50:43.064    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> Pull Started
2023-11-10T08:50:43.064    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> Retrieving alerts event(s) having createDate between 2023-08-28T16:40:54.000000Z and 2023-08-28T17:40:54.000000Z
2023-11-10T08:50:59.497    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> Retrieved 1000 alerts event(s)
2023-11-10T08:50:59.525    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> Updating the persistence
2023-11-10T08:50:59.527    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> (Partial) Statistics for this pull cycle (@devo_pulling_id=1699586443056):Number of requests made: 1; Number of events received: 1000; Number of duplicated events filtered out: 0; Number of events generated and sent: 1000; Average of events per second: 60.741.
2023-11-10T08:50:59.528    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> Retrieving alerts event(s) having createDate between 2023-08-28T17:40:54.000000Z and 2023-08-28T18:40:54.000000Z
2023-11-10T08:50:59.942    INFO OutputProcess::DevoSender(standard_senders,devo_sender_0) -> Created a sender: {"name": "DevoSender(standard_senders,devo_sender_0)", "url": "collector-eu.devo.io:443", "chain_path": "/home/nikhilgoyal/devo-collector-trellix-helix/certs/chain.crt", "cert_path": "/home/nikhilgoyal/devo-collector-trellix-helix/certs/int-if-integrations-india.crt", "key_path": "/home/nikhilgoyal/devo-collector-trellix-helix/certs/int-if-integrations-india.key", "transport_layer_type": "SSL", "last_usage_timestamp": null, "socket_status": null}, hostname: "2023-APAC-0050", session_id: "140677354301904"
2023-11-10T08:51:16.442    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> Retrieved 1000 alerts event(s)
2023-11-10T08:51:16.466    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> Updating the persistence
2023-11-10T08:51:16.468    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> (Partial) Statistics for this pull cycle (@devo_pulling_id=1699586443056):Number of requests made: 2; Number of events received: 2000; Number of duplicated events filtered out: 1; Number of events generated and sent: 1999; Average of events per second: 59.843.
2023-11-10T08:51:16.468    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> Retrieving alerts event(s) having createDate between 2023-08-28T18:40:54.000000Z and 2023-08-28T19:40:54.000000Z
2023-11-10T08:51:32.620    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> Retrieved 1000 alerts event(s)
2023-11-10T08:51:32.645    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> Updating the persistence
2023-11-10T08:51:32.646    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> (Partial) Statistics for this pull cycle (@devo_pulling_id=1699586443056):Number of requests made: 3; Number of events received: 3000; Number of duplicated events filtered out: 2; Number of events generated and sent: 2998; Average of events per second: 60.465.
2023-11-10T08:51:32.647    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> Retrieving alerts event(s) having createDate between 2023-08-28T19:40:54.000000Z and 2023-08-28T20:40:54.000000Z

After a successful collector’s execution (that is, no error logs found), you will see the following log message:

2023-11-10T08:59:53.632    INFO InputProcess::TrellixHelixPuller(trellix_helix,12345,alerts,predefined) -> (Partial) Statistics for this pull cycle (@devo_pulling_id=1699586443056):Number of requests made: 33; Number of events received: 33000; Number of duplicated events filtered out: 32; Number of events generated and sent: 32968; Average of events per second: 59.880.

This collector uses persistent storage to download events in an orderly fashion and avoid duplicates. In case you want to re-ingest historical data or recreate the persistence, you can restart the persistence of this collector by following these steps:

Edit the configuration file.
Change the value of the initial_start_time_in_utc_value parameter to a different one.
Save the changes.
Restart the collector.

The collector will detect this change and will restart the persistence using the parameters of the configuration file or the default configuration in case it has not been provided.

This collector has different security layers that detect both an invalid configuration and abnormal operation. This table will help you detect and resolve the most common errors.

Error type	Error ID	Error message	Cause	Solution

Error type	Error ID	Error message	Cause	Solution
SetupError	100	`Error occurred while validating api key from the Helix server. Error message: {error}`	The `apiKey` is not valid.	Make sure the `apiKey` is valid to authorise the API call.
InitVariablesError	1	datetime_format`` is not set in service thread globals	datetime format is not set.	Make sure the datetime format is set in the module globals.
	2	initial_start_time_in_utc`` is not set as per the ``datetime_format	The start time specified in config is not in accordance with the datetime format.	Make sure you have specified the start time in the proper datetime format.
	3	`Date {initial_start_time} is in the future`	The start time mentioned is ahead of the present time.	Make sure the start time is in the past.
PullError	300	`HTTP Error occurred while retrieving events from Helix server,summary: {HTTPError},details: {HTTPError.response}`	This error happens when the collector tries to fetch the Helix alerts from its REST API.	In this error you will find the HTTP error code as well as the response’s text. This information should be enough to understand why is the error happening. Otherwise, please contact support.
	301	`Some error occurred while retrieving events from Helix server. Error details: {Exception}`	Some exception occured while making the API request.	Reach out to the developer with the exact error message.

Collector operations

This section is intended to explain how to proceed with specific operations of this collector.

Initialization

The initialization module is in charge of setup and running the input (pulling logic) and output (delivering logic) services and validating the given configuration.

A successful run has the following output messages for the initializer module:

Events delivery and Devo ingestion

The event delivery module is in charge of receiving the events from the internal queues where all events are injected by the pullers and delivering them using the selected compatible delivery method.

A successful run has the following output messages for the initializer module:

Sender services

The Integrations Factory Collector SDK has 3 different senders services depending on the event type to delivery (internal, standard, and lookup). This collector uses the following Sender Services:

Sender services	Description

Sender services	Description
`internal_senders`	In charge of delivering internal metrics to Devo such as logging traces or metrics.
`standard_senders`	In charge of delivering pulled events to Devo.

Sender statistics

Each service displays its own performance statistics that allow checking how many events have been delivered to Devo by type:

Logging trace	Description

Logging trace

Description

Number of available senders: 1

Displays the number of concurrent senders available for the given Sender Service.

sender manager internal queue size: 0

Displays the items available in the internal sender queue.

Total number of messages sent: 44, messages sent since "2022-06-28 10:39:22.511671+00:00": 21 (elapsed 0.007 seconds)

Displays the number of events from the last time and following the given example, the following conclusions can be obtained:

44 events were sent to Devo since the collector started.
The last checkpoint timestamp was 2022-06-28 10:39:22.511671+00:00.
21 events where sent to Devo between the last UTC checkpoint and now.
Those 21 events required 0.007 seconds to be delivered.

To check the memory usage of this collector, look for the following log records in the collector which are displayed every 5 minutes by default, always after running the memory-free process.

The used memory is displayed by running processes and the sum of both values will give the total used memory for the collector.
The global pressure of the available memory is displayed in the global value.
All metrics (Global, RSS, VMS) include the value before freeing and after previous -> after freeing memory

Change log

Release	Released on	Release type	Details	Recommendations

Release	Released on	Release type	Details	Recommendations
`v1.0.0`	Nov 8, 2023	initial release	Released the first version of the Trellix Helix collector.	`Recommended version`