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Mimecast Source

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The Mimecast Source supports collecting SIEM, DLP, Audit, and Hold Message List data from the Mimecast API. It securely stores the required authentication, scheduling, and state tracking information.

The Mimecast Source leverages the following:

States

A Mimecast Source tracks errors, reports its health, and start-up progress. You’re informed, in real-time, if the Source is having trouble connecting, if there's an error requiring user action, or if it is healthy and collecting by utilizing Health Events.

A Mimecast Source goes through the following states when created:

  1. Pending. Once the Source is submitted, it is validated, stored, and placed in a Pending state.
  2. Started. A collection task is created on the Hosted Collector.
  3. Initialized. The task configuration is complete in Sumo Logic.
  4. Authenticated. The Source successfully authenticated with Mimecast.
  5. Collecting. The Source is actively collecting data from Mimecast.

If the Source has any issues during any one of these states, it is placed in an Error state.

When you delete the Source, it is placed in a Stopping state. When it has successfully stopped, it is deleted from your Hosted Collector.

On the Collection page, the Health and Status for Sources is displayed. Use Health Events to investigate issues with collection.

error mimecast.png

Hover your mouse over the status icon to view a tooltip with details on the detected issue.

health error generic.png

Prerequisite

The integration must be configured with the Client ID, Secret Key, and Data Source(s). Also, the user account associated with your Mimecast credentials needs to have basic administrator access.

Create a Mimecast Source

When you create a Mimecast Source, you add it to a Hosted Collector. Before creating the Source, identify the Hosted Collector you want to use or create a new Hosted Collector. For instructions, see Configure a Hosted Collector.

To configure a Mimecast Source:

  1. In Sumo Logic, select Manage Data > Collection > Collection
  2. On the Collectors page, click Add Source next to a Hosted Collector.
  3. Select Mimecast.
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  4. Enter a Name for the Source. The description is optional.
    Mimecast-config-page
  5. (Optional) For Source Category, enter any string to tag the output collected from the Source. Category metadata is stored in a searchable field called _sourceCategory.
  6. Forward to SIEM. Check the checkbox to forward your data to Cloud SIEM Enterprise. When configured with the Forward to SIEM option the following metadata fields are set:
    • _siemVendor: Mimecast
    • _siemProduct: Mimecast
    • _siemFormat: JSON
    • _siemEventID: The SIEM event ID is populated by the suffix of the file name, which references the log type. This includes values such as:
      • receipt
      • process
      • delivery
      • jrnl
      • ttp
        The DLP event id is dlp.
  7. (Optional) Fields. Click the +Add Field link to define the fields you want to associate, each field needs a name (key) and value.
    • green check circle.png A green circle with a check mark is shown when the field exists in the Fields table schema.
    • orange exclamation point.png An orange triangle with an exclamation point is shown when the field doesn't exist in the Fields table schema. In this case, an option to automatically add the nonexistent fields to the Fields table schema is provided. If a field is sent to Sumo that does not exist in the Fields schema it is ignored, known as dropped. 
  8. Client ID. Enter the Client ID of the app. Refer to the Mimecast documentation for guidance to create the Client ID.
  9. Client Secret. Enter the Client Secret key of the app. Refer to the Mimecast documentation for guidance to create the Client Secret.
  10. Supported API to collect. Select the type of Mimecast data source that you want to collect.
  11. Processing Rules for Logs (Optional). Configure any desired filters, such as allowlist, denylist, hash, or mask, as described in Create a Processing Rule.
  12. When you are finished configuring the Source, click Save.

Error types

When Sumo Logic detects an issue it is tracked by Health Events. The following table shows the three possible error types, the reason the error would occur, if the Source attempts to retry, and the name of the event log in the Health Event Index.

TypeReasonRetriesRetry BehaviorHealth Event Name
ThirdPartyConfigNormally due to an invalid configuration. You'll need to review your Source configuration and make an update.No retries are attempted until the Source is updated.Not applicableThirdPartyConfigError
ThirdPartyGenericNormally due to an error communicating with the third party service APIs.YesThe Source will retry for up to 90 minutes, after which it quits.ThirdPartyGenericError
FirstPartyGenericNormally due to an error communicating with the internal Sumo Logic APIs.YesThe Source will retry for up to 90 minutes, after which it quits.FirstPartyGenericError

Restarting your Source

If your Source encounters ThirdPartyConfig errors, you can restart it from either the Sumo Logic UI or Sumo Logic API.

UI

To restart your source in the Sumo Logic platform, follow the steps below:

  1. Open the Collection page, and go to Manage Data > Collection > Collection.
  2. Select the source and click the information icon on the right side of the row.
  3. The API usage information popup is displayed. Click the Restart Source button on the bottom left.
    restart-source-button
  4. Click Confirm to send the restart request.
    restart-source-confirm
  5. The bottom left of the platform will provide a notification informing you the request was successful.
    restart-source-initiated

API

To restart your source using the Sumo Management API, follow the instructions below:

  • Method: POST
  • Example endpoint:
    https://api.sumologic.com/api/v1/collectors/{collector_id}/sources/{source_id}/action/restart

Sumo Logic endpoints like api.sumologic.com are different in deployments outside us1. For example, an API endpoint in Europe would begin api.eu.sumologic.com. A service endpoint in us2 (Western U.S.) would begin service.us2.sumologic.com. For more information, see Sumo Logic Endpoints.

JSON configuration

Sources can be configured using UTF-8 encoded JSON files with the Collector Management API. See how to use JSON to configure Sources for details. 

ParameterTypeRequiredDescriptionAccess
configJSON ObjectYesContains the configuration parameters for the Source. 
schemaRefJSON ObjectYesUse {"type":"Mimecast"} for a Mimecast Source.not modifiable
sourceTypeStringYesUse Universal for a Mimecast Source.not modifiable

The following table shows the config parameters for a Mimecast Source.

ParameterTypeRequired?DefaultDescriptionAccess
nameStringYesType a desired name of the Source. The name must be unique per Collector. This value is assigned to the metadata field _source.modifiable
descriptionStringNonullType a description of the Source.modifiable
categoryStringNonullType a category of the source. This value is assigned to the metadata field _sourceCategory. See best practices for details.modifiable
fieldsJSON ObjectNoJSON map of key-value fields (metadata) to apply to the Collector or Source. Use the boolean field _siemForward to enable forwarding to SIEM.modifiable
clientIDStringYesClient Id for your Mimecast app.modifiable
clientSecretStringYesSecret Key for your Mimecast app.modifiable
dataCollectionStringYesSupported API.modifiable

Mimecast Source JSON example:

{
"api.version": "v1",
"source": {
"config": {
"name": "Mimecast",
"description": "Mimecast",
"category": "Mimecast",
"clientID": "XXXgXXXXXXXxfkNsaXXXXo8VqkXXXixRf5VlnwcXXXXXchX",
"clientSecret": "XXXgXXXXXXXxfkNsaXXXXo8VqkXXXixRf5VlnwcXXXXXchX",
"dataCollection": [
"siem",
"dlp",
"auditEvent",
"holdMessageList"
]
},
"schemaRef": {
"type": "Mimecast"
},
"sourceType": "Universal"
}
}

Troubleshooting

After configuring your source, you should check the status of the source in the Collectors page > Status column. If the source is not functioning as expected, you may see an error next to the Source Category column as shown below: 

Error Code401
Error Details:

{
"error": "Client credentials are invalid"
}

To resolve these errors:

  • Make sure correct Client ID or Secret Key is used to configure the source.
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