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Microsoft 365

Ship your Microsoft 365 logs using Filebeat to your Logit.io Stack

Configure Microsoft 365 to ship logs via Filebeat to your Logit.io stacks via Logstash.

Send Your DataLogsPlatformsMicrosoft 365 Guide

Follow this step by step guide to get 'logs' from your system to Logit.io:

Step 1 - Configure Microsoft 365 Logging

By deploying this integration, you can forward Unified Audit Logging logs from Microsoft 365 to Logit.io using the Microsoft 365 Management API. This approach currently supports several Microsoft 365 content types, including:

  • "Audit.AzureActiveDirectory"
  • "Audit.Exchange"
  • "Audit.SharePoint"
  • "Audit.General"
  • "DLP.All"

To utilize this integration, you'll need an active Microsoft 365 subscription with an administrator account that has the appropriate provisioning. Additionally, Unified Audit Logging must be enabled within Microsoft 365's Security and Audit Center.

Step 2 - Register a new application in Azure AD

  • Sign in to the portal.zure.com and navigate to the Azure Active Directory service.
  • Select "App registrations" and click "New registration."
  • Enter a name for the application and select the appropriate account type and redirect URI.
Make sure to take note of the Application (client) ID and Directory (tenant) ID as they will be required for configuring Filebeat at a later step.

Step 3 - Create a client secret for your application

  • Select "App registrations" and click on the application that we created in step 2.
  • Go to the "Certificates & secrets" page and click "New client secret."
  • Enter a description for the client secret and choose an expiration option.
  • Click "Add" to create the client secret and copy the value as it will not be displayed again.
  • Store the client secret value securely, as it cannot be retrieved later.

Step 4 - Create a client secret for your application

  • Go to the "API permissions" on the left hand side and click "Add a permission."
  • On the "Application permissions" tab, activate the "ActivityFeed.Read" and "ActivityFeed.ReadDlp" permissions.

Step 5 - Install Filebeat

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

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

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

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

  • Choose the AMD / Intel file (x86_64) or
  • Choose the ARM file (arm64)

You can tell if you have a Linux PC with an AMD / Intel CPU (kernel) architecture by opening a terminal and running the uname -m command. If it displays x86_64 you have AMD / Intel architecture.

To successfully install filebeat you will need to have root access.

If you have an x86_64 system download and extract the contents of the file using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
tar xzvf filebeat-8.12.2-linux-x86_64.tar.gz

If you have an arm64 system download and extract the contents of the file using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-linux-arm64.tar.gz
tar xzvf filebeat-8.12.2-linux-arm64.tar.gz

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

  • Choose the AMD / Intel file (x86_64) or
  • Choose the ARM file (aarch64)

You can tell if you have a Mac with an ARM CPU architecture by opening the Terminal application and running the arch command. If it displays arm64 you have ARM architecture.

To successfully install filebeat you will need to have root access.

If you have an x86_64 system download and extract the contents of the file using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-darwin-x86_64.tar.gz
tar xzvf filebeat-8.12.2-darwin-x86_64.tar.gz

If you have an aarch64 system download and extract the contents of the file using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-darwin-aarch64.tar.gz
tar xzvf filebeat-8.12.2-darwin-aarch64.tar.gz

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

  • Choose the AMD / Intel file (x86_64) or
  • Choose the ARM file (aarch64)

You can tell if you have a PC with an ARM CPU architecture by opening the Terminal application and running the arch command. If it displays arm64 you have ARM architecture.

To successfully install filebeat you will need to have root access.

If you have an x86_64 system download and install filebeat using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i filebeat-8.12.2-amd64.deb

If you have an aarch64 system download and install filebeat using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-arm64.deb
sudo dpkg -i filebeat-8.12.2-arm64.deb

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

  • Choose the AMD / Intel file (x86_64) or
  • Choose the ARM file (aarch64)

You can tell if you have a PC with an ARM CPU architecture by opening the Terminal application and running the arch command. If it displays arm64 you have ARM architecture.

To successfully install filebeat you will need to have root access.

If you have an x86_64 system download and install filebeat using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-x86_64.rpm
sudo rpm -vi filebeat-8.12.2-x86_64.rpm

If you have an aarch64 system download and install filebeat using the following commands:

curl -L -O https://artifacts.elastic.co/downloads/beats/filebeat/filebeat-8.12.2-aarch64.rpm
sudo rpm -vi filebeat-8.12.2-aarch64.rpm

Step 6 - Configure Filebeat

Copy the configuration file below and overwrite the contents of the Filebeat module file typically located at /etc/filebeat/modules.d/o365.yml.disabled

Save the file as o365.yml

# Module: o365
# Docs: https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/beats/filebeat/8.6/filebeat-module-o365.html

- module: o365
  audit:
    enabled: true

    # Set the application_id (also known as client ID):
    var.application_id: <ApplicationID>

    # Configure the tenants to monitor:
    # Use the tenant ID (also known as directory ID) and the domain name.
    # var.tenants:
    #  - id: "tenant_id_1"
    #    name: "mydomain.onmicrosoft.com"
    #  - id: "tenant_id_2"
    #    name: "mycompany.com"
    var.tenants:
    - id: <TenantID>
      name: <TenantName>

    # List of content-types to fetch. By default all known content-types
    # are retrieved:
    # var.content_type:
    #  - "Audit.AzureActiveDirectory"
    #  - "Audit.Exchange"
    #  - "Audit.SharePoint"
    #  - "Audit.General"
    #  - "DLP.All"

    # Use the following settings to enable certificate-based authentication:
    # var.certificate: "/path/to/certificate.pem"
    # var.key: "/path/to/private_key.pem"
    # var.key_passphrase: "myPrivateKeyPassword"

    # Client-secret based authentication:
    # Comment the following line if using certificate authentication.
    var.client_secret: "<ClientSecret>"

    # Advanced settings, use with care:
    # var.api:
    #   # Settings for custom endpoints:
    #   authentication_endpoint: "https://login.microsoftonline.us/"
    #   resource: "https://manage.office365.us"
    #
    #   max_retention: 168h
    #   max_requests_per_minute: 2000
    #   poll_interval: 3m

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

# ============================== Filebeat inputs ===============================
filebeat.config:
  modules:
    enabled: true            
    path: modules.d/*.yml

  fields:
     type: o365
  fields_under_root: true

# ================================== Outputs ===================================
output.logstash:
    hosts: ["your-logstash-host:your-ssl-port"]
    loadbalance: true
    ssl.enabled: true

It’s a good idea to run the configuration file through a YAML validator to rule out indentation errors, clean up extra characters, and check if your YAML file is valid. Yamllint.com is a great choice.

Step 7 - Validate configuration

.\filebeat.exe -e -c filebeat.yml
If the yml file is invalid, filebeat will print an `error loading config file` error message with details on how to correct the problem. If you have issues starting filebeat see "How To Diagnose No Data In Stack" below to troubleshoot. 
sudo ./filebeat -e -c filebeat.yml --strict.perms=false

You’ll be running filebeat as root, so you need to change ownership of the configuration file and any configurations enabled in the modules.d directory, or run filebeat with --strict.perms=false as shown above. Read more about how to change ownership.

If the yml file is invalid, filebeat will print an `error loading config file` error message with details on how to correct the problem. If you have issues starting filebeat see "How To Diagnose No Data In Stack" below to troubleshoot. 
sudo ./filebeat -e -c filebeat.yml --strict.perms=false

You’ll be running filebeat as root, so you need to change ownership of the configuration file and any configurations enabled in the modules.d directory, or run filebeat with --strict.perms=false as shown above. Read more about how to change ownership.

If the yml file is invalid, filebeat will print an `error loading config file` error message with details on how to correct the problem. If you have issues starting filebeat see "How To Diagnose No Data In Stack" below to troubleshoot. 
sudo filebeat -e -c /etc/filebeat/filebeat.yml
If the yml file is invalid, filebeat will print an `error loading config file` error message with details on how to correct the problem. If you have issues starting filebeat see "How To Diagnose No Data In Stack" below to troubleshoot. 
sudo filebeat -e -c /etc/filebeat/filebeat.yml
If the yml file is invalid, filebeat will print an `error loading config file` error message with details on how to correct the problem. If you have issues starting filebeat see "How To Diagnose No Data In Stack" below to troubleshoot.

Step 8 - Start filebeat

To start Filebeat, run in Powershell:

Start-Service filebeat

To start Filebeat, run:

sudo chown root filebeat.yml 
sudo chown root modules.d/{modulename}.yml 
sudo ./filebeat -e

You’ll be running filebeat as root, so you need to change ownership of the configuration file and any configurations enabled in the modules.d directory, or run filebeat with --strict.perms=false as shown above. Read more about how to change ownership.

To start Filebeat, run:

sudo chown root filebeat.yml 
sudo chown root modules.d/{modulename}.yml 
sudo ./filebeat -e

You’ll be running filebeat as root, so you need to change ownership of the configuration file and any configurations enabled in the modules.d directory, or run filebeat with --strict.perms=false as shown above. Read more about how to change ownership.

To start Filebeat, run:

sudo service filebeat start

To start Filebeat, run:

sudo service filebeat start

Step 9 - Launch Logit.io to view your logs

Data should now have been sent to your Stack.

View my data

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

Step 10 - How to diagnose no data in Stack

If you don't see data appearing in your Stack after following the steps, visit the Help Centre guide for steps to diagnose no data appearing in your Stack or Chat to support now.

Step 11 - Microsoft 365 Overview

Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based productivity suite that includes a range of services such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Microsoft Teams. To ensure the security of these services, it's important to have a robust monitoring solution in place.

One way to monitor Microsoft 365 activity is by leveraging its auditing capabilities. This allows organizations to track user activity and identify potential security threats in real-time. To make sense of the audit logs, it's essential to have a reliable log management solution that can collect, process, and analyze the data.

One way to achieve this is by using Filebeat to ship Microsoft 365 logs to Logstash and OpenSearch. This process involves creating a new application registration in Azure AD and granting it appropriate permissions to access the Microsoft 365 Management API. A client secret is then created for the application, and the Application (client) ID and Directory (tenant) ID are noted down.

With Microsoft 365 and Filebeat, organizations can proactively monitor user activity, detect potential security incidents, and ensure compliance with industry regulations and standards. By collecting and analyzing data from various sources, organizations can gain valuable insights into their security posture and take appropriate measures to safeguard their environment.

If you need any further assistance with shipping your log data to Logit.io 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 & we'll be happy to assist.