Tanium XEM Core (On-Prem) Setup for Workbench

This article is for on-prem Tanium XEM Core installations only. For Cloud-based installations, use the Tanium XEM Core Cloud article instead.

Step 1: Enable Console Access

Expel requires console access to allow analysts to perform investigation and triage. Without this additional level of information, alerts cannot be verified by our analysts, and an investigation cannot be initiated. For more information, see Why Expel Asks for Console Access.

When you create an XEM Core user configuration, by default it has no computer management groups, alternative personas, user groups, or roles until you assign them. A user with no roles can log into the Tanium Console but can't access anything. Don't create configurations for user accounts that you import from an LDAP server.

Doc reference: https://help.tanium.com

We use the following Tanium API routes for our integration:

Route	Permission
/api/v2/session/login	Interact:Login
/api/v2/sensors/by-name	Interact:Read Sensor
/api/v2/parse_question	Interact:Ask Dynamic Questions
/api/v2/questions
/api/v2/result_data/question/
/plugin/products/detect3/api/v1/alerts	Threat Response: Detect Alert Read
/plugin/products/detect3/api/v1/intels	Threat Response: Detect Intel Read
/plugin/products/detect3/api/v1/sources	Threat Response: Detect Source Read
/plugin/products/detect3/api/v1/intels/<intel id>/labels	Threat Response: Detect Label Read

The Interact Basic User role grants us all the necessary permissions we need to access the question/sensor APIs and Interact console.

The Threat Response Read Only User role grants us all the necessary permissions we need to access the alerts APIs and Threat Response console.

If you are using a custom role, we also need Detect Use API permission as well as the necessary permissions to make Threat Response available in console.

The Tanium client uses a username/password combination to create an authenticated session. The returned session token is set on the session header for all later requests.

1. From the Main menu, select Administration > Management > Users.
2. Click New User.
3. Specify a user name that matches one of the following:

   • A user account defined locally on the Tanium Server.
   • A user account defined in your IdP.
   • (Windows only) An AD account name. Specify just the username, not the domain name. Tanium Server uses Windows Authentication, and doesn't store or manage login credentials for the user.
4. Save the configuration and get ready to assign roles to a user.
5. From the Main menu, select Administration > Management > Users.
6. Click the User Name of the user configuration that you want to edit.
7. In the Roles and Effective Permissions section, click Manage.
8. In the Grant Roles section, click Edit, select Interact Basic User and Threat Response Read Only User, and click Save.
9. Click Show Preview to Continue to review your changes.

Step 2: Add Tanium XEM Core as a Security Device in Workbench

Now that you have the correct access configured and noted the credentials, you can integrate your tech with Workbench.

1. ​Log in to Workbench.
2. In the side menu, navigate to Organization Settings > Security Devices. If you have multiple organizations, you must select the appropriate organization name from the list.
3. Select Add Security Device.
4. Search for and select Tanium XEM Core.

   
5. Complete the fields as follows:

   • Where is your device? - select On-prem and select the assembler you set up in Add a New Assembler.
   • Name - enter a name that might help you more easily identify this integration, such as “CompanyName Tanium”; this name will display in Workbench under the Name column, and is a text string that you can filter on.
   • Location - enter the location of your integration, for example “on-prem.” This is also a text string that you can filter on, so we recommend being consistent with location naming across your Expel integrations.
   • Username and Password - enter the username and password created in Step 1.
   • Server address - enter the hostname or IP address of the Tanium device.
6. Click Save.
7. On the console access screen, select Set up now.
8. In the Console Login area, type these details:

   • Console URL - enter the console URL from the Server address in the Connection Settings area above. At the end of the URL, type /login.
   • Username - enter the user name for the new user you created in Step 1.
   • Password - enter the password for the new user you created in Step 1.
   • Two-factor secret key (32-character code) - depending on how your organization enforces log-ins, this field may not apply to you. In these cases, you can leave it blank. This field is optional and if you have questions or concerns, reach out to your Customer Success Manager (CSM) or to support.
9. Click Save.

Your device should be created successfully within a few seconds. A few reminders:

• After your connection is healthy, it will take some time for your device to begin polling and receiving data.
• To check on the status, select the downward arrow for your device in the first column and choose View details.
• Polling will happen first; data will be received after that. You must refresh the page to see updates.
• If your device does not begin polling within 15 minutes, and does not begin receiving data within 30 minutes, contact our support team for help.
• To check if alerts are coming through, navigate to Dashboards > Alert Analysis. Scroll to the device you want to check, and select the Expel Alerts tab to reveal more alert information. It can take 36 to 72 hours for alerts to appear after setup, as we tune your device.