Connecting to an IBM Cloud Security Advisor data source

Connect the IBM Cloud Security Advisor data source to the platform to enable your applications and dashboards to collect and analyze IBM Cloud Security Advisor security data. Universal Data Insights connectors enable federated search across your security products.

1. Go to Menu > Connections > Data sources.
2. On the Data Sources tab, click Connect a data source.
3. Click IBM Cloud Security Advisor, then click Next.
4. Configure the connection to the data source.
   1. In the Data source name field, assign a name to uniquely identify the data source connection.
      You can create multiple connection instances to a data source so it would be good to clearly set them apart by name. Only alphanumeric characters and the following special characters are allowed: - . _
   2. In the Data source description field, write a description to indicate the purpose of the data source connection.
      You can create multiple connection instances to a data source, so it is useful to clearly indicate the purpose of each connection by description. Only alphanumeric characters and the following special characters are allowed: - . _
   3. If you have a firewall between your cluster and the data source target, use the Edge Gateway to host the containers. In the Edge gateway (optional) field, specify which Edge Gateway to use.
      Select an Edge Gateway to host the connector. It can take up to five minutes for the status of newly deployed data source connections on the Edge Gateway to show as being connected.
   4. In the Host URL field, set the host URL of the data source so that the platform can communicate with it.
      The host URL is the IBM Cloud Security Advisor findings endpoint. IBM Cloud Security Advisor supports regional endpoint URLs that you can use to interact with the service over the public internet. When you call the API, use the endpoint URL that corresponds with the location that you see in the IBM Cloud Security Advisor dashboard. The following URLs are the endpoint URLs by location:

      • Dallas: https://us-south.secadvisor.cloud.ibm.com/findings
      • London: https://eu-gb.secadvisor.cloud.ibm.com/findings
5. Set the query parameters to control the behavior of the search query on the data source.
   1. In the Concurrent search limit field, set the number of simultaneous connections that can be made to the data source. The default limit for the number of connections is 4. The value must not be less than 1 and must not be greater than 100.
   2. In the Query search timeout limit field, set the time limit in minutes for how long the query is run on the data source. The default time limit is 30. When the value is set to zero, there is no timeout. The value must not be less than 1 and must not be greater than 120.
   3. In the Result size limit field, set the maximum number of entries or objects that are returned by search query. The default result size limit is 10,000. The value must not be less than 1 and must not be greater than 500,000.
   4. In the Query time range field, set the time range in minutes for the search, represented as the last X minutes. The default is 5 minutes. The value must not be less than 1 and must not be greater than 10,000.
   Important: If you increase the concurrent search limit and the result size limit, a greater amount of data can be sent to the data source, which increases the strain on the data source. Increasing the query time range also increases the amount of data.
6. Optional: If IBM Cloud Security Advisor is configured with a self-signed Security Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate, add a connection certificate.
   1. Specify the self-signed certificate that is configured in IBM Cloud Security Advisor.
   2. Copy the certificate details and paste it in the space that is provided, then click Done.
7. Optional: If you need to customize the STIX attributes mapping, click Customize attribute mapping and edit the JSON blob to map new or existing properties to their associated target data source fields.
8. Configure identity and access.
   1. Click Add a Configuration.
   2. In the Configuration name field, enter a unique name to describe the access configuration and distinguish it from the other access configurations for this data source connection that you might set up. Only alphanumeric characters and the following special characters are allowed: - . _
   3. In the Configuration description field, enter a unique description to describe the access configuration and distinguish it from the other access configurations for this data source connection that you might set up. Only alphanumeric characters and the following special characters are allowed: - . _
   4. Click Edit access and choose which users can connect to the data source and the type of access.
   5. Enter an Account ID and API Key.
      For more information about IBM Cloud account ID, see IBM Cloud. For more information about IBM Cloud API Key, see Understanding API keys.
   6. Click Add.
   7. To save your configuration and establish the connection, click Done.
   You can see the data source connection configuration that you added under Connections on the data source settings page. A message on the card indicates connection with the data source.

   When you add a data source, it might take a few minutes before the data source shows as being connected.

   Tip: After you connect a data source, it might take up to 30 seconds to retrieve the data. Before the full data set is returned, the data source might display as unavailable. After the data is returned, the data source shows as being connected, and a polling mechanism occurs to validate the connection status. The connection status is valid for 60 seconds after every poll.

   You can add other connection configurations for this data source that have different users and different data access permissions.

9. To edit your configurations, complete the following steps:
   1. On the Data Sources tab, select the data source connection that you want to edit.
   2. In the Configurations section, click Edit Configuration ().
   3. Edit the identity and access parameters and click Save.