Security Audit Workflow
This skill defines the structured process for infrastructure security audits. Use it for systematic security assessment and compliance validation.
Security Audit Phases
| Phase |
Focus |
Output |
| 1. Scope Definition |
Define audit boundaries |
Audit plan |
| 2. Automated Scanning |
Run security tools |
Scan results |
| 3. Manual Review |
Deep-dive analysis |
Finding details |
| 4. Compliance Mapping |
Map to frameworks |
Compliance report |
| 5. Remediation Planning |
Prioritize fixes |
Remediation plan |
| 6. Verification |
Confirm fixes |
Closure report |
Phase 1: Scope Definition
Audit Scope Template
## Security Audit Scope
**Audit ID:** SEC-AUDIT-YYYY-NNN
**Audit Period:** YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD
**Auditor:** [name/team]
### In Scope
| Category | Components |
|----------|------------|
| **Accounts** | AWS Account 123456789, 987654321 |
| **Regions** | us-east-1, us-west-2 |
| **Services** | EC2, RDS, S3, IAM, VPC, EKS |
| **Environments** | Production, Staging |
| **Compliance** | SOC2 Type II, PCI-DSS 4.0 |
### Out of Scope
| Category | Reason |
|----------|--------|
| Development accounts | Covered by separate audit |
| Application code | Covered by code review process |
| Third-party SaaS | Covered by vendor assessments |
### Audit Objectives
1. Validate compliance with [framework]
2. Identify security vulnerabilities in infrastructure
3. Assess IAM and access control posture
4. Review network security configuration
5. Evaluate logging and monitoring coverage
Phase 2: Automated Scanning
Security Scanning Tools
| Tool |
Purpose |
Scope |
| AWS Security Hub |
Aggregated findings |
All AWS services |
| AWS Config |
Configuration compliance |
Resource configuration |
| GuardDuty |
Threat detection |
Account activity |
| Trivy |
Container vulnerabilities |
EKS images |
| Checkov |
IaC security |
Terraform/CloudFormation |
| ScoutSuite |
Cloud security audit |
Multi-cloud |
Scan Execution Template
# AWS Security Hub findings
aws securityhub get-findings --filters '{"SeverityLabel":[{"Value":"CRITICAL","Comparison":"EQUALS"}]}'
# AWS Config compliance
aws configservice get-compliance-summary-by-config-rule
# Trivy container scan
trivy image --severity CRITICAL,HIGH [image]
# Checkov IaC scan
checkov -d /path/to/terraform --framework terraform
Scan Results Template
## Automated Scan Results
**Scan Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Tools Used:** Security Hub, Trivy, Checkov
### Summary by Severity
| Source | Critical | High | Medium | Low |
|--------|----------|------|--------|-----|
| Security Hub | X | X | X | X |
| Trivy | X | X | X | X |
| Checkov | X | X | X | X |
| **Total** | **X** | **X** | **X** | **X** |
### Critical Findings Requiring Immediate Action
| Finding ID | Source | Description |
|------------|--------|-------------|
| SEC-001 | Security Hub | [description] |
| SEC-002 | Trivy | [description] |
Phase 3: Manual Review
Review Checklist
IAM Review
Network Security Review
Data Protection Review
Logging & Monitoring Review
Manual Review Template
## Manual Review Findings
### IAM Security
| Check | Status | Finding |
|-------|--------|---------|
| Root MFA | PASS | MFA enabled |
| Root usage | PASS | No root activity in 90 days |
| Password policy | PARTIAL | Missing complexity requirement |
| Access key age | FAIL | 3 keys >90 days |
### Network Security
| Check | Status | Finding |
|-------|--------|---------|
| VPC flow logs | PASS | Enabled on all VPCs |
| SG 0.0.0.0/0 | FAIL | sg-xxx allows SSH from anywhere |
| Public RDS | PASS | No public instances |
[Continue for all categories...]
Phase 4: Compliance Mapping
SOC2 Control Mapping
| Control |
Requirement |
Evidence |
Status |
| CC6.1 |
Logical access controls |
IAM policies, MFA |
Compliant |
| CC6.6 |
System boundaries |
VPC, security groups |
Compliant |
| CC6.7 |
Encryption in transit |
TLS configuration |
Compliant |
| CC7.1 |
System monitoring |
CloudTrail, GuardDuty |
Compliant |
| CC7.2 |
Anomaly detection |
GuardDuty findings |
Partial |
PCI-DSS Mapping
| Requirement |
Description |
Evidence |
Status |
| 1.3 |
Firewall configuration |
Security groups |
Compliant |
| 3.4 |
Encryption at rest |
KMS, S3 encryption |
Compliant |
| 8.3 |
Strong authentication |
MFA, IAM policies |
Partial |
| 10.2 |
Audit logging |
CloudTrail |
Compliant |
| 11.3 |
Vulnerability scanning |
Security Hub |
Compliant |
Compliance Summary Template
## Compliance Status Report
**Assessment Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Frameworks:** SOC2 Type II, PCI-DSS 4.0
### Overall Status
| Framework | Total Controls | Compliant | Partial | Non-Compliant |
|-----------|---------------|-----------|---------|---------------|
| SOC2 | 50 | 45 | 3 | 2 |
| PCI-DSS | 40 | 35 | 4 | 1 |
### Non-Compliant Controls
| Framework | Control | Gap | Remediation |
|-----------|---------|-----|-------------|
| SOC2 | CC7.2 | Anomaly alerting incomplete | Enable GuardDuty alerts |
| PCI-DSS | 8.3 | MFA not enforced for all | Enable MFA requirement |
Phase 5: Remediation Planning
Prioritization Matrix
| Priority |
Criteria |
SLA |
| P1 |
Critical vulnerability, compliance blocker |
24 hours |
| P2 |
High vulnerability, significant risk |
7 days |
| P3 |
Medium vulnerability, moderate risk |
30 days |
| P4 |
Low vulnerability, best practice |
90 days |
Remediation Plan Template
## Remediation Plan
**Plan Created:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Total Findings:** XX
**Critical/High:** XX
### Remediation Actions
| Finding | Priority | Owner | Target Date | Status |
|---------|----------|-------|-------------|--------|
| SEC-001 | P1 | @security | YYYY-MM-DD | In Progress |
| SEC-002 | P2 | @platform | YYYY-MM-DD | Not Started |
| SEC-003 | P2 | @devops | YYYY-MM-DD | Not Started |
### Detailed Remediation
#### SEC-001: IAM Access Keys >90 Days
**Finding:** 3 IAM users have access keys older than 90 days
**Risk:** Credential compromise risk increases over time
**Remediation:**
1. Identify key usage patterns
2. Create rotation schedule
3. Rotate keys for each user
4. Update applications using keys
5. Disable old keys after verification
**Owner:** @security
**Target Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
Phase 6: Verification
Verification Checklist
Closure Report Template
## Security Audit Closure Report
**Audit ID:** SEC-AUDIT-YYYY-NNN
**Audit Period:** YYYY-MM-DD to YYYY-MM-DD
**Closure Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
### Summary
| Metric | Count |
|--------|-------|
| Total findings | XX |
| Remediated | XX |
| Accepted risk | XX |
| Deferred | XX |
### Remediation Summary
| Priority | Found | Remediated | Accepted | Deferred |
|----------|-------|------------|----------|----------|
| P1 | X | X | 0 | 0 |
| P2 | X | X | X | 0 |
| P3 | X | X | X | X |
| P4 | X | X | X | X |
### Risk Acceptances
| Finding | Risk Description | Accepting Authority | Review Date |
|---------|------------------|---------------------|-------------|
| SEC-XXX | [description] | CISO | YYYY-MM-DD |
### Next Audit
**Scheduled:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Focus Areas:** [areas based on this audit]
Anti-Rationalization Table
| Rationalization |
Why It's WRONG |
Required Action |
| "Internal service, security can be relaxed" |
Internal breaches are common |
Apply standards uniformly |
| "False positive, ignore it" |
All findings need verification |
Document evidence |
| "Too many findings to fix" |
Prioritize by severity |
Triage systematically |
| "Compliance is just checkbox" |
Compliance reflects real risk |
Treat as minimum bar |
| "Security slows us down" |
Breach slows you permanently |
Integrate security in process |
Pressure Resistance
| User Says |
Your Response |
| "Skip security review, deadline tomorrow" |
"Security review is mandatory. Cannot release with unreviewed changes. Scheduling expedited review." |
| "That's a false positive" |
"All findings require documented verification. Will assess with evidence." |
| "Accept all remaining risks" |
"Risk acceptance requires proper documentation and authority sign-off. Preparing risk acceptance forms." |
| "Legacy system, different rules" |
"Legacy systems are higher risk. Stricter standards apply." |
Dispatch Specialist
For security audit tasks, dispatch:
Task tool:
subagent_type: "security-operations"
model: "opus"
prompt: |
SECURITY AUDIT REQUEST
Scope: [accounts, regions, services]
Compliance Frameworks: [SOC2, PCI-DSS, etc.]
Focus Areas: [IAM, network, data, etc.]
Previous Findings: [reference if follow-up]