Searching in the contents of audit trails
This feature is available only if auditing and content indexing was requested for the connection.
For more information, see Configuring the internal indexer.
You can search in the contents of the audit trails as follows:
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From your browser: Use this method to find all the sessions containing your search query.
Enter the screen.content: expression search query in the Search query field. For example: screen.content="exit". The search returns all the sessions where exit was on the screen.
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From the Safeguard Desktop Player application: Use this method to find the exact location of the search query within a specific audit trail.
Download the relevant audit trail, open it in the Safeguard Desktop Player application, and use the Search feature. You can also search in the contents of the audit trails for trails of graphical sessions created and indexed with One Identity Safeguard for Privileged Sessions (SPS) 6.0.
There are various ways you can refine your content query, you can:
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use wildcards
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use boolean expressions
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search in the commands of terminal connections (for example, command:"sudo su")
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search in the window titles of graphical connections (for example, title:settings)
Search query examples
The following sections provide examples for different search queries.
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For examples of exact matches, see Searching for exact matches.
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For examples of using boolean operators to combine search keywords, see Combining search keywords.
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For examples of wildcard searches, see Using wildcard searches.
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For examples of searching with special characters, see Searching for special characters.
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For examples of fuzzy search that finds words with similar spelling, see Searching for fuzzy matches.
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For examples of proximity search to find words that appear within a special distance, see Proximity search.
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For examples of adjusting the relevance of a search term, see Adjusting the relevance of search terms.
For details on how to use more complex keyphrases that are not covered in this guide, see the Apache Lucene documentation.
Searching for exact matches
By default, One Identity Safeguard for Privileged Sessions (SPS) searches for keywords as whole words and returns only exact matches. Note that if your search keywords include special characters, you must escape them with a backslash (\) character. For details on special characters, see Searching for special characters. The following characters are special characters: + - & | ! ( ) { } [ ] ^ " ~ * ? : \ /
Example: Searching for exact matches
| Search expression | example |
| Matches | example |
| Does not match |
examples example.com query-by-example exam |
To search for an exact phrase, enclose the search keywords in double quotes.
| Search expression | "example command" |
| Matches | example command |
| Does not match |
example command example: command |
To search for a string that includes a backslash characters, for example, a Windows path, use two backslashes (\\).
| Search expression | C\:\\Windows |
| Matches |
C:\Windows |
Combining search keywords
You can use boolean operators – AND, OR, NOT, and + (required), – to combine search keywords. More complex search expressions can also be constructed with parentheses. If you enter multiple keywords,
Example: Combining keywords in search
| Search expression | keyword1 AND keyword2 |
| Matches | (returns hits that contain both keywords) |
| Search expression | keyword1 OR keyword2 |
| Matches | (returns hits that contain at least one of the keywords) |
| Search expression | "keyword1 keyword2" NOT "keyword2 keyword3" |
| Matches | (returns hits that contain the first phrase, but not the second) |
| Search expression | +keyword1 keyword2 |
| Matches | (returns hits that contain keyword1, and may contain keyword2) |
To search for expressions that can be interpreted as boolean operators (for example: AND), use the following format: "AND".
Example: Using parentheses in search
Use parentheses to create more complex search expressions:
| Search expression | (keyword1 OR keyword2) AND keyword3 |
| Matches | (returns hits that contain either keyword1 and keyword3, or keyword2 and keyword3) |
Using wildcard searches
You can use the ? and * wildcards in your search expressions.
Example: Using wildcard ? in search
The ? (question mark) wildcard means exactly one arbitrary character. Note that it does not work for finding non-UTF-8 or multibyte characters. If you want to search for these characters, the expression ?? might work, or you can use the * wildcard instead.
You cannot use a * or ? symbol as the first character of a search.
| Search expression | example? |
| Matches |
example1 examples example? |
| Does not match |
example.com example12 query-by-example |
| Search expression | example?? |
| Matches |
example12 |
| Does not match |
example.com example1 query-by-example |
Example: Using wildcard * in search
The * wildcard means 0 or more arbitrary characters. It finds non-UTF-8 and multibyte characters as well.
| Search expression | example* |
| Matches |
example examples example.com |
| Does not match |
query-by-example example* |
Example: Using combined wildcards in search
Wildcard characters can be combined.
| Search expression | ex?mple* |
| Matches |
example1 examples example.com exemple.com example12 |
| Does not match |
exmples query-by-example |
Searching for special characters
To search for the special characters, for example, question mark (?), asterisk (*), backslash (\) or whitespace ( ) characters, you must prefix these characters with a backslash (\). Any character after a backslash is handled as character to be searched for. The following characters are special characters: + - & | ! ( ) { } [ ] ^ " ~ * ? : \ /
Example: Searching for special characters
To search for a special character, use a backslash (\).
| Search expression | example\? |
| Matches |
example? |
| Does not match |
examples example1 |
To search for a string that includes a backslash characters, for example, a Windows path, use two backslashes (\\).
| Search expression | C\:\\Windows |
| Matches |
C:\Windows |
To search for a string that includes a slash character, for example, a UNIX path, you must escape the every slash with a backslash (\/).
| Search expression | \/var\/log\/messages |
| Matches |
/var/log/messages |
| Search expression | \(1\+1\)\:2 |
| Matches |
(1+1):2 |
Searching in commands and window titles
For terminal connections, use the command: prefix to search only in the commands (excluding screen content). For graphical connections, use the title: prefix to search only in the window titles (excluding screen content). To exclude search results that are commands or window titles, use the following format: keyword AND NOT title:[* TO *].
You can also combine these search queries with other expressions and wildcards, for example, title:properties AND gateway.
Example: Searching in commands and window titles
| Search expression | command:"sudo su" |
| Matches |
sudo su as a terminal command |
| Does not match | sudo su in general screen content |
| Search expression | title:settings |
| Matches |
settings appearing in the title of an active window |
| Does not match | settings in general screen content |
To find an expression in the screen content and exclude search results from the commands or window titles, see the following example.
| Search expression | properties AND NOT title:[* TO *] |
| Matches |
properties appearing in the screen content, but not as a window title. |
| Does not match | properties in window titles. |
You can also combine these search filters with other expressions and wildcards.
| Search expression | title:properties AND gateway |
| Matches |
A screen where properties appears in the window title, and gateway in the screen content (or as part of the window title). |
| Does not match |
Screens where both properties and gateway appear, but properties is not in the window title. |
Searching for fuzzy matches
Fuzzy search uses the tilde ~ symbol at the end of a single keyword to find hits that contain words with similar spelling to the keyword.
Example: Searching for fuzzy matches
| Search expression | roam~ |
| Matches |
roams foam |
Proximity search
Proximity search uses the tilde ~ symbol at the end of a phrase to find keywords from the phrase that are within the specified distance from each other.
Example: Proximity search
| Search expression | "keyword1 keyword2"~10 |
| Matches | (returns hits that contain keyword1 and keyword2 within 10 words from each other) |
Adjusting the relevance of search terms
By default, every keyword or phrase of a search expression is treated as equal. Use the caret ^ symbol to make a keyword or expression more important than the others.
Example: Adjusting the relevance of search terms
| Search expression | keyword1^4 keyword2 |
| Matches | (returns hits that contain keyword1 and keyword2, but keyword1 is 4-times more relevant) |
| Search expression | "keyword1 keyword2"^5 "keyword3 keyword4" |
| Matches | (returns hits that contain keyword1 keyword2 and keyword3 keyword4, but keyword1 keyword2 is 5-times more relevant) |
Audit trail downloads information on the Search interface
If you want to find out if the audit trail file of a relevant indexed session has already been downloaded (or you are interested in the details of the session's audit trail downloads), the Details tab will provide information.
Prerequisites
To log audit trail downloads of a certain connection, enable Log audit trail downloads in the Connections menu of the connection.
To display audit trail downloads information about the relevant indexed session
- Navigate to Search and find the relevant indexed session.
- Click
and select the Details tab.
Figure 242: Search > Details — The indexed session's available information displayed on the Details tab
If no audit trail file has been downloaded for the relevant indexed session yet, the Details tab will display:
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If you want to download an audit trail file for the session, click
Download audit trail. In this case, the displayed information will contain information about your current session.
If a downloaded audit trail file already exists for the relevant indexed session, the Details tab will display similar information:
Displayed fields
- Download date: The exact time when the user downloaded the audit trail file.
- Username: The username that was used to download the audit trail file for the session.
- IP address: The IP address from where the audit trail download was requested.
- From API: Indicates if the audit trail file was downloaded through API or not.
Displaying statistics on search results
You can quickly sort and visualize the distribution of the sessions based on their various metadata, for example, username, server address, and so on.
To display statistics on search results
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Click the
icon.
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Select the type of metadata you want to create statistics on from the Value distribution based on field, for example, select Username to display sessions based on username.
Figure 243: Search — Displaying statistics
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To exclude items from the pie chart, click the
icon next to the metadata you want to exclude.
For example, if you want to exclude results by a user called testbot, select the
Figure 244: Search — Excluding items from the pie chart
The pie chart now does not display results for the excluded item. The percentages always add up to 100%.
You can continue to restrict or refine your search results and view statistics as required.
Analyzing data using One Identity Safeguard for Privileged Analytics
One Identity Safeguard for Privileged Sessions (SPS) integrates data from SPS to use as the basis of user behavior analysis. SPA uses machine learning algorithms to scrutinize behavioral characteristics (using data from SPS), and generates user behavior profiles for each individual privileged user. SPA compares actual user activity to user profiles in real time, with profiles being continually adjusted using machine learning. When SPA detects unusual activity, this is indicated on the user interface of SPS in the form of high scores and visualized insight.
Prerequisites
Make sure that you have session data from network traffic that:
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contains real, unique usernames linked to users other than root/administrator or a shared account
To check this, navigate to Search, and check whether the Username column contains data. This is important, because session data will be linked to users.
If you do not have unique usernames in your session data, review your authentication settings and consult with the One Identity Professional Services team to learn about your options to tie accounts to users.
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has commands extracted (using lightweight or full indexing, or in real-time through content policies)
For instructions on how to configure indexing and include commands in the scope of indexing, see "Indexing audit trails" in the Administration Guide.
For details on how to configure real-time command extraction using a content policy, see "Creating a new content policy" in the Administration Guide.
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has keystrokes extracted (using lightweight or full indexing, or in real-time through content policies)
The minimum required amount of data for reliable insight is 5 sessions with approximately 200 keystrokes each.
For instructions on how to configure indexing and include typing biometrics in the scope of indexing, see "Indexing audit trails" in the Administration Guide.
For details on how to configure real-time extraction of keystroke-related data using a content policy, see "Creating a new content policy" in the Administration Guide.
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has pointing device (mouse) biometrics extracted (using lightweight or full indexing, or in real-time through content policies)
For instructions on how to configure indexing and include pointing device biometrics in the scope of indexing, see "Indexing audit trails" in the Administration Guide.
For details on how to configure real-time extraction of pointing device-related data using a content policy, see "Creating a new content policy" in the Administration Guide.
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has window titles extracted (using lightweight or full indexing, or in real-time through content policies)
For instructions on how to configure indexing and include window titles in the scope of indexing, see "Indexing audit trails" in the Administration Guide.
For details on how to configure real-time window title extraction using a content policy, see "Creating a new content policy" in the Administration Guide.
The following describes how to analyze data using One Identity Safeguard for Privileged Analytics.
Limitations
SPS used in combination with SPA currently has the following limitations:
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SPA requires at least 12GB RAM to operate. If you are interested in upgrading your appliance, contact our Support Team.
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SPA requires a lot of computation, which can put pressure on SPS:
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The keystroke algorithm is much more resource-hungry than the other algorithms, therefore our recommendation is to start analyzing data using the algorithms that require less resources.
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Before you start using SPA, make sure that at least half the capacity of SPS is available.
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SPA only analyzes audit trails and SPS metadata, it does not analyze log data.
To start using SPA
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Start getting scores.
Scoring happens in real-time, meaning that as soon as new data (even data from an ongoing session) is available, SPA immediately scores it.
TIP:When data is not immediately available to you and you are unable to wait until sufficient amount of data comes in from production traffic, you can resort to manually reindexing historical sessions. For details, see "Reindex historical sessions" in the Safeguard for Privileged Analytics Configuration Guide.
Scores represent an aggregated amount. Session data is scored by multiple algorithms independent from each other. Scores given by individual algorithms are aggregated to create a single score.
For detailed instructions on how to configure SPA, see Safeguard for Privileged Analytics Configuration Guide.
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Search for sessions with high scores.
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Go to Search.
Sessions are displayed sorted by date. For ongoing sessions, the Search interface is updated in real-time to always show the most up-to-date information.
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In the Search query field, type analytics.score.aggregated: [80 TO 100], and click Search.
A score between 80 and 100 indicates unusual user behavior.
Figure 245: Searching for sessions with unusual user behavior using a search query
Results that show sessions with high scores are displayed.
Figure 246: Sessions with high scores — table view
Figure 247: Sessions with high scores — card view
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Alternatively, search for scripted sessions.
In the Search query field, type analytics.scripted:true, and click Search.
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To view details of a session, click
.
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Click the Analytics tab.
The top of the page displays a summary of key insights about the session, such as:
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The aggregated score (indicated by a gauge). The following color codes are used:
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Scores between 80-100 indicate unusual behavior, their color code is red.
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Scores between 70-79 indicate behavior that might require further analysis and attention, their color code is amber.
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Scores between 0-69 indicate normal behavior, their color code is gray.
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A one-sentence summary of each algorithm's verdict about the session and user behavior.
The Anomalies found and Normal behavior sections of the page display detailed analyses provided by each of the configured algorithms. This includes short information on how a particular algorithm works and how to read the visualized insight, as well as scores given by the individual algorithms.
Figure 248: Search — Viewing details on the Analytics tab: Anomalies found
Figure 249: Search — Viewing details on the Analytics tab: Normal behavior
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