Manual Chapter :
Configuring How BIG-IQ FPS Processes Alerts
Applies To:
Show VersionsBIG-IQ Centralized Management
- 8.3.0, 8.2.0, 8.1.0, 8.0.0, 7.1.0
Configuring How BIG-IQ FPS Processes Alerts
Before you start managing alerts
Before you can start using Fraud Protection Service (FPS) to manage alerts, you need to deploy a
data collection device (DCD) cluster. This cluster includes the BIG-IQ
Centralized Management devices and Data Collection devices needed to manage and store the
alert data generated from your BIG-IP devices. Additionally, you need to
configure your BIG-IP devices to send FPS alerts to the DCD cluster. These tasks are
detailed in the document
Planning and Implementing an F5BIG-IQ® Centralized Management Deployment
.Configure a web
service
Before you can perform this task, you must be logged in as Admin
and, if you plan to use a proxy for WebService traffic, you must have configured a
proxy server that your data collection device cluster can access.
To use a proxy, you must configure a proxy on each device
(data collection devices and BIG-IQ devices) in the cluster. Additionally, the proxy
names you specify for each node in the cluster must match exactly.
You can add or remove a WebService configuration.
You need a web service to download new alert transform rules from the SOC. You also need
a web service so you can forward received alerts to the Security Operations Center (SOC)
so that the SOC can inspect them.
- At the top of the screen, clickConfiguration.
- On the left, click.
- ClickWebService Configuration, and then select the web service you want to configure.
- To configure an existing service, click the name of the service.
- To configure a new service clickCreate.
If you create a web service with a particular set of SOC credentials, and then use that web service in forwarding rules or scheduled alert rule downloads and later delete and recreate it with a different name, then attempts to restore that snapshot will fail. To successfully restore snapshots, you must recreate the web service with the same name.When you make changes to your web service configuration, allow up to 5 minutes for these changes to propagate to all of your managed FPS devices before you look for the impact of the configuration changes. - For theWebService Name, type a name for the web service that you would like to forward alerts to.The Security Operations Center (SOC) is the only option.
- ForDescription, type a description of the account that you would like to send alerts to.
- ForWebService URI, use the default value supplied by the BIG-IQ.
- ForRemote Account ID, type the remote account ID provided by the SOC.
- ForSOC User, type the user name provided by the SOC.
- ForSOC Password, type the password provided by the SOC.
- If you want the alert traffic for this web service to route through a proxy, selectUse Proxy, and then select the proxy you want to use.
- ForTest SOC Connection, click theTestbutton to make sure the alert goes through.A successful test confirms only that the alert was successfully sent (or, if you specified a proxy, that the alert reached the proxy server). You should confirm with the recipient that the test message is received.
- ClickSave & Close
You have configured a web service that can down load alert rules from the SOC and
forward alerts to the SOC.
Create an alert transform rule
Before you can perform this task, you must be logged in as Admin.
An alert transform rule is used to modify alerts matching a set of
criteria. It might take a few minutes after alert transform rules are created before
they take effect.
When you create an alert transform rule, you create a set of criteria
that tells your system what to do with incoming alerts. An example of this would be
if the system finds a particular string in the alert query when there is generic
malware present. If the alert matches all of the criteria that you set up, then the
system changes the alert severity, details, recommendation, and status. You can use
alert transform rules to ignore a type of alert that is harmless, or you can use
alert transform rules to give an alert a higher severity and change the alert status
to Monitor.
- At the top of the screen, clickMonitoring.
- On the left, click.
- ClickAlert Transform Rules.
- To add an alert transform rule, clickCreate.The New Alert Transform Rule screen opens.
- InTransform Rule Name, type a name for the rule.
- InStatus, select theEnabledcheck box if you want the transform rule to be enabled immediately after creating it.If theEnabledcheck box is not selected, the transform rule is inactive until this setting is changed.Enabling a rule does not apply it on alerts. To apply the rule, you must enable it and then clickApply.
- InDescription, type a description of the alert rule.
- InFind, type the text that you want the BIG-IQ® to search for in the alert data.The BIG-IQ searches for this text in the areas you specify in theWherefield, and the alert transform rule can be applied on alerts where this text is found.
- For theWheresetting, select which parts of the alert should be searched.The BIG-IQ searches for the text you specify in theFindfield in the parts of the alert you specify here.
- For theWhensetting, select which types of alerts should be searched.
- For theAccountssetting, retain the default,All Accounts, or clear the check box and specify on which accounts the rule should be applied.
- ForAlert Severity, select a severity number for the rule.By default, most rules are given a severity number of 50.
- InAlert Details, type additional information to display in the rule.
- InAlert Recommendation, type a recommendation to display in the rule.
- ForAlert Status, select a status that will be assigned to matching alerts.
- Select the check box next toUse regex to obfuscate the user name from selected fieldsif you want the rule to hide the user name in selected alert fields.If you select this check box, the propertiesUser Regular ExpressionandMatch User Regular Expression onappear.
- ForUser Regular Expression, type a regular expression for identifying a user name in an alert.If the BIG-IQ finds this regular expression, the actual user name is replaced withusername. For example, if you specify the regex:username=([a-zA-Z]*)and the alert URL ishttps://myusername.com?username=johndoe, after the regex is matched and applied, the alert URLrendersit ashttps://djohndoe.com?username=USERNAME.
- ForMatch User Regular Expression on, select the parts of the alert that you want the BIG-IQ to search to determine if they contain the regular expression.
- ClickSave & Close.
Creating a schedule to download alert
transform rules from the SOC
Before you can create a new download
schedule, you must configure a web service.
You can set up a schedule to download alert
transform rules from the Security Operations Center (SOC). You can start downloads
immediately, or repeat them on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. You can only create
one repeating schedule. However, you can create a new schedule that will run
immediately.
Transform rules are downloaded only for the
account configured in the SOC
WebService.
- At the top of the screen, clickConfiguration.
- On the left, click, and then clickTransform Rule Import Schedule.
- Click theCreatebutton.The New FPS Download Schedule screen opens.
- Type aNameandDescriptionfor the schedule.
- From theWebServicelist, select the service you want to use.
- ForImport Alert Rules Frequency, select the frequency for downloading the transform rules .
- ForStart Date, specify the date and time that you want the first download to start.
- ForEnd Date, either selectNo End Date, or specify the date and time that you want downloads to stop.
- SelectShould Applyif you want the downloaded alert transform rules to be immediately applied on alerts in the BIG-IQ.
- SelectShould Forwardif you want to forward notifications about alerts that were modified by the transform rule to a third party, according to the forwarding rules configured in the BIG-IQ.
- ClickSave & Close.The FPS Download Schedules screen opens and the schedule that you created is listed.
After a successful download occurs, you can
check the download results in the FPS Download Schedules screen, including the following
information:
- Total Rules:The total number of transform rules that were received in the download.
- Total Rules Ignored:The total number of rules that were ignored for either of the following reasons:
- The rule is not associated with the account that performed the download.
- Validation of the rule failed.
- Total Rules Updated:The total number of rules that were received in a previous download and were updated in the latest download.
Importing a CSV file with alert rules
Importing alert transform rules from a CSV file is helpful if you do not want to
schedule a download of the alert transform rules from the Security Operations Center (SOC) over
the Internet.
You can save alert transform rules (called
signatures
) from the SOC into a CSV file, then use
the steps in this task to import the CSV file into FPS.- At the top of the screen, clickConfiguration.
- On the left, click, and then clickAlert Transform Rules.
- Click theImportbutton.A popup screen opens.
- ClickChoose File, and then choose a CVS file to import.
- Select a target account.
- ClickImport.The imported alert transform rules are applied to the types of alerts the account is configured to receive.
Modifying alert forwarding rules
Before you can perform this task, you must be logged in as Admin, and if you plan to
use a proxy to forward custom alerts, you must have configured a proxy server that
your Data Collection Device cluster can access.
You can add, clone, or remove alert
forwarding rules. You can forward alerts to a web service, an email address, a sys-log,
or to a custom WebService location.
- At the top of the screen, clickConfiguration.
- On the left, click, and then clickAlert Forwarding Rules.
- On the Alert Forwarding Rules screen, select an action as appropriate:
- To view details for an alert forwarding rule, click the rule name.
- To create an alert forwarding rule, clickCreate.
- To clone an alert forwarding rule, select the check box by the rule and clickClone.
- To delete an alert forwarding rule, select the check box by the rule and clickDelete.
- To enable an alert forwarding rule, select the check box by the rule and clickEnable.
- To disable an alert forwarding rule, select the check box by the rule and clickDisable.
- On the New Alert Forwarding Rules screen, fill in the settings as needed:
- ForForwarding Rule Name, type a name for the alert rule.
- ForDescription, type a description of the alert rule.
- ForStatus, select theEnabledcheck box to forward alerts.
- On the left, clickAlerts Matching, and fill in the settings as needed:
- ForAlert Severity Equal OR Greater Than, select the alert severity level from the list.
- ForAlert Categories, move an alert category from theAvailablelist to theSelectedlist.
- ForAlert Status, select a status for the alert, and move it from theAvailablelist to theSelectedlist.
- To forward only alerts that include a user name, forUsername, selectMust be Present.Enabling this setting significantly reduces the volume of alerts that FPS forwards.
- ForAccounts, use the defaultAll Accounts, or select a specific fraud protection account and move it to theSelectedcolumn. The alert forwarding rule will then only act on the alerts that the account is set to receive.
- On the left, clickNotification Targetsand select one or more means for forwarding alerts.
- EnableWebServiceto send alert notifications to the F5 Security Operations Center (SOC) dashboard through the cloud WebService.For additional details on how to use the fields in the WebService area, refer to WebService method forwarding detail.You must configure WebService Config in Fraud Protection Service before you can select this option.
- EnableEmailto send notifications to an email address.For additional details on how to use the fields in the Email area, refer to Email forwarding method detail.You must configure the DNS and SMTP server on your data collection devices to use this option.
- EnableSyslogto send alert notifications to a Syslog server.For additional details on how to use the fields in the Syslog area, refer to Syslog forwarding method detail.
- EnableCustomto send custom alert notifications to a third party web service.For additional details on the Custom area, and how to use the fields in it, refer to Custom forwarding method detail.
- ClickSave & Close.
WebService forwarding method detail
When you use the WebService forwarding
method, you use the
web
service tab to define how the alert is sent.
- ForWebService, select the web service to which you want the alert to be sent.
- Specify the variables that you want to have included in the alert by using the arrow button to move them from theAvailablelist to theSelectedlist.For a list of forwarding method variables that you can use, refer toSupported Forwarding Method variables.
- ClickSave & Close.
Email forwarding method detail
When you use the Email forwarding method, you use the Email tab to define how the alert
is sent.
- ForSender Name, the screen specifies the name of the email sender (F5 Fraud Protection Service).
- ForSender Email Address, type the email address from which you want the alert notifications forwarded.
- ForEmail Recipient(s), type the email address to which you want the alert notifications forwarded.
- To run a test of the email addresses you specified above, clickTest.A successful test confirms only that the alert was successfully sent. You should confirm with the recipient that the test message is received.
- ForEmail Subject, you can either use the default parameters to specify the alert email subject, or create your own using the supported parameters.For a list of forwarding method variables that you can use, refer toSupported Forwarding Method variables.
- ForMail Template, you can add or subtract from the default list of parameters.Parameters listed here are included in the forwarded alert.
- When you finish configuring the alert sending method, clickSave & Close.
Syslog forwarding method detail
When you use the Syslog forwarding method, you use the Syslog tab to define how the
alert is sent.
- ForSyslog Facility, type the facility number to which you want the alert notifications to be forwarded.
- ForSyslog Severity, select the severity level that you want to be appended to all forwarded alert notifications.The severity level you select here is added to all forwarded alerts. This level is unrelated to the severity level number assigned independently to each alert.
- ForSyslog Server, type the IP address of the server to which you want the alerts to be forwarded.
- ForSyslog Port, type the port number to which you want the alerts to be forwarded.
- ForSyslog Protocol, select the protocol that the target syslog server uses to accept forwarded alerts.
- To run a test of the specified settings, clickTest.A successful test confirms only that the alert was successfully sent. You should confirm with the recipient that the test message is received.
- ForSyslog Template, you can add or subtract from the default list of parameters.Parameters listed here are included in the forwarded alert. For a list of forwarding method variables that you can use, refer toSupported Forwarding Method variables.
- When you finish configuring the alert sending method, clickSave & Close.
Custom forwarding method detail
Before you can perform this task, if you
plan to use a proxy to forward custom alerts, you must have configured a proxy server that
your data collection device cluster can access.
When you are configuring an alert
forwarding rule and select the Custom method, you use the Custom tab to define the details of
how the alert is sent. This alert type specifies a number of parameters that the alert
receiving entity has specified as requirements of the service they use to listen for forwarded
alerts. You specify the values for these parameters so that the forwarded alerts satisfy the
requirements of the alert receiving entity.
- If the alert recipient uses a service that requires an alert token, select the check box forUses Token.The screen displays additional settings.
- ForWS Token Timeout, type the number of seconds that the alert recipient specifies for forwarded alert tokens.
- ForWS Token URL, type the IP address that the alert recipient specifies for forwarded alert tokens.
- ForWS Token Method, select the REST API method that the alert recipient specifies for forwarded alert tokens.
- ForWS Token Headers, type the required request header information specified by the alert recipient for forwarded alert token headers.
- ForWS Token Request, type the required request body information specified by the alert recipient for forwarded alert tokens.
- ForWS Token Response, type the required request response information specified by the alert recipient for forwarded alert responses.
- If you want the alert traffic for this custom rule to route through a proxy, selectUse Proxy, and then select the proxy you want to use.
- ForWS Alert URL, type the IP address specified by the alert recipient for forwarded alert responses.
- ForWS Alert Method, select the REST API method that the alert recipient specifies for forwarded alerts.
- To run a test of the specified settings, clickTest.A successful test confirms only that the alert was successfully sent (or, if you specified a proxy, that the alert reached the proxy server). You should confirm with the recipient that the test message is received.
- ForWS Alert Headers, type the required alert header information specified by the alert recipient for forwarded alert headers.
- ForWS Alert Request, type in the parameters that you want to be included in the forwarded alerts.Parameters listed here are included in the forwarded alert. For a list of forwarding method variables that you can use, refer toSupported Forwarding Method variables.
- When you finish configuring the alert sending method, clickSave & Close.
Supported forwarding method variables
There are a number of forwarding method variables that you can use when you create an
alert rule.
Variable Name |
Alert Field |
---|---|
Account ID |
{accountid} |
Account Name |
{account} |
Alert Date (dd.mm.yyyy hh:mm) |
{date} |
Alert Date (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss) |
{datefull} |
Alert Date (Unix Timestamp) |
{unixdate} |
Alert Domain |
{domain} |
Alert Name |
{name} |
Alert Severity |
{severity} |
Alert Query |
{query} |
Alert Recommendation |
{recommendation} |
Alert Status (Numeric) |
{statusid} |
Alert Status (Textual) |
{status} |
Alert Type |
{type} |
Alert URL |
{url} |
Alert GUID |
{guid} |
Alert Referer |
{referer} |
Alert Details |
{details} |
Application Cookies |
{session_data} |
Authentication Token (For CustomWS Notifications) |
{token} |
Client Host Name |
{hostname} |
Client IP |
{ip} |
Client Language |
{language} |
Client Proxy Host Name |
{proxyname} |
Client Proxy IP |
{proxy} |
Client Username |
{user} |
Client User Agent |
{agent} |
Client Country |
{geoip_country} |
Client City |
{geoip_city} |
Client Device ID |
{device_id} |
Client Device Parameters |
{device_params} |
Full Alert HTML Data |
{ht_data} |
MD5 of Full Alert HTML |
{ht} |
MD5 of Minimal Alert HTML |
{min} |
Minimal Alert HTML Data |
{min_data} |
Add a fraud
protection account
You create Fraud Protection accounts in order to receive alerts
related to alert identifiers that have been configured on the BIG-IP system. You can
then assign BIG-IQ users to limit their view of alerts and rules.
Accounts are used to filter alerts, and to transform rules and
forwarding rules based on the alert ID configured on the BIG-IP system. Each FPS account
has an account ID, and all alerts have an account ID field. You can view only the alerts
whose account ID field matches an FPS account ID to which your user login has been
assigned access.
- At the top of the screen, clickConfiguration.
- On the left, click, and then clickWebService Configuration.
- ClickCreate.The New FPS WebService Configuration screen opens.
- Fill in as appropriate:WebService NameType a name for the account that you would like to send alerts to (for example,MortgageDept).DescriptionType a description of the account that you would like to send alerts to.WebService URIThis value is always filled in by default. The only reason to change this is if you want to forward to another legacy dashboard.Remote Account IDType the remote account ID provided to you by the SOC.SOC UserType the user name provided to you by the SOC By default, the administrator is selected to look at the account..To create a user, go toand clickAdd. Be sure to give the user a user role of Fraud Protection Manager or Fraud Protection ViewSOC PasswordType the password provided to you by the SOC.ProxyTo route the alert traffic for this web service through a proxy, selectUse Proxy, and then select the proxy you want to use.Test SOC ConnectionTo test the SOC connection, click the Test button to confirm that your settings are correct.A successful test confirms only that a test alert was successfully sent (or, if you specified a proxy, that the alert reached the proxy server). You should confirm with the recipient that the test message is received.
- ClickSave & Close.
You now have a fraud protection account that can manage the alerts that you
specify.