Integrating Splunk Cloud and Onboarding Data
Introduction
On the third day, the lab was extended into the cloud through the integration of Splunk Cloud and enrolling data sources. After establishing secure connectivity between Splunk Cloud and the on-premises infrastructure, I ingested test datasets to verify indexing. For contemporary DFIR operations, this stage demonstrated the scalability advantages of cloud integration and the adaptability of hybrid installations.
Objective
To establish a cloud-hosted SIEM, configure it to receive data, and successfully onboard a sample dataset for analysis. This process ensures the SIEM is operational and capable of handling real-world data for security monitoring and analysis.
Signing Up for the Cloud SIEM
Laying the Foundation in the Cloud
Action: Navigate to cloud.splunk.com and sign up for a Free Trial.
Purpose: To simulate a modern enterprise environment where the SIEM is hosted in the cloud, separate from the data sources.
Outcome: You gain access to a fully managed Splunk instance without the need for local installation, streamlining the setup process.
Preparing for Data Collection
This step involves configuring the SIEM to receive and process data from various sources. It includes setting up data inputs, defining ingestion methods, and ensuring the system is ready to collect and analyze data for security monitoring.
Generating Forwarder Credentials
- The Challenge: How does the cloud instance trust data coming from your machine?
- The Solution: Forwarder Credentials.
- In Splunk Cloud, navigate to Settings > Forwarding and Receiving.
- Generate a new set of credentials (username/password).
Why This Matters: These credentials act as a unique API key that authenticates the Universal Forwarder, allowing it to send data securely to the cloud instance.
Onboarding Sample Data
This process involves importing a sample dataset into the SIEM to validate its data ingestion and analysis capabilities. By onboarding sample data, you can test the system's functionality and ensure it is ready for real-world data collection and analysis.
Feeding the Cloud Brain
This step involves sending data to the cloud-hosted SIEM, enabling it to analyze and process the information. By feeding data into the system, you ensure the SIEM is actively monitoring and capable of providing insights for security analysis.
Goal: To get real data into Splunk Cloud to practice searching.
Method: Add Data > Upload
Download the tutorial data from the official Splunk docs page.
In Splunk Web, click Add Data and select Upload.
Select the downloaded tutorialdata.zip file.
Splunk will automatically set the source, sourcetype, and index (it typically uses main by default).
Click Start Searching.
Result: Your cloud instance now contains genuine web access logs to analyze.
Procedures
Add Data > Upload
Download the tutorial data from the official Splunk docs page.
This step involves accessing the official Splunk documentation to download the tutorial data, which will be used to test and validate the SIEM's functionality.
On your browser, search for this to download the tutorial data:
https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/Splunk/8.0.4/SearchTutorial/Systemrequirements#Download_the_tutorial_data_files
Click Add Data on Splunk Web, then choose Upload. Choose the tutorialdata.zip file that has been downloaded.
Select Segment in path.
Type '1' for the segment number.
Click Submit.
Click Start Searching.
Understanding Indices and Data Location
This step involves learning how data is organized and stored within the SIEM. Indices are used to categorize and manage data, helping to locate and retrieve information for analysis and monitoring efficiently.
Investigation Task
This task involves analyzing data within the SIEM to identify potential security incidents or anomalies. It requires searching through logs, correlating events, and using the system's tools to investigate and respond to potential threats.
I run the following command to validate search in the Cloud: index=_internal | head 10.
This command searches the internal logs of the Splunk instance and retrieves the first 10 results, helping to validate that data is being indexed and accessible for analysis.
No results found
This is correct! The _internal index contains logs about Splunk's own operation. The cloud instance is healthy, but I haven't generated any operational logs for it to store yet.
Discovering Your Data
Using eventcount to Map the Indices
To check the default (main) index
I enter this command; index=main | head 10
The tutorial dataset landed in main, not tutorial. That's why index=tutorial | head 10 shows no results.
Indexes with events
I run this search to list all indexes with events
| eventcount summarize=false index=*
Querying the Actual Data
This step involves running specific queries to retrieve and analyze real data from the SIEM. By querying the actual data, you can assess the system's ability to process and provide insights for security monitoring and analysis.
To perform a Basic Health Check
The Correct Search I used:
index=main sourcetype=access_combined_wcookie | stats count by status
To count HTTP status codes from the web log data, I used:
index=main sourcetype=access_combined_wcookie | stats count by status
This gives me a baseline health check of my web logs.
Success Verification & Day 3 Reflection
Goals Achieved:
Successfully registered for Splunk Cloud.
Located Forwarder Management and generated credentials.
Onboarded a sample dataset via upload.
Used investigative searches (eventcount) to find and analyze the data.
Day 3 focused on bridging the gap between the cloud and the ground, emphasizing that understanding where your data lands (which index) is just as critical as getting it there.
Top comments (0)