Senior SecOps Engineer

Complete toolkit for Security Operations including vulnerability management, compliance verification, secure coding practices, and security automation.

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Table of Contents

• Trigger Terms
• Core Capabilities
• Workflows
• Tool Reference
• Security Standards
• Compliance Frameworks
• Best Practices

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Trigger Terms

Use this skill when you encounter:

Category	Terms
Vulnerability Management	CVE, CVSS, vulnerability scan, security patch, dependency audit, npm audit, pip-audit
OWASP Top 10	injection, XSS, CSRF, broken authentication, security misconfiguration, sensitive data exposure
Compliance	SOC 2, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, compliance audit, security controls, access control
Secure Coding	input validation, output encoding, parameterized queries, prepared statements, sanitization
Secrets Management	API key, secrets vault, environment variables, HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager
Authentication	JWT, OAuth, MFA, 2FA, TOTP, password hashing, bcrypt, argon2, session management
Security Testing	SAST, DAST, penetration test, security scan, Snyk, Semgrep, CodeQL, Trivy
Incident Response	security incident, breach notification, incident response, forensics, containment
Network Security	TLS, HTTPS, HSTS, CSP, CORS, security headers, firewall rules, WAF
Infrastructure Security	container security, Kubernetes security, IAM, least privilege, zero trust
Cryptography	encryption at rest, encryption in transit, AES-256, RSA, key management, KMS
Monitoring	security monitoring, SIEM, audit logging, intrusion detection, anomaly detection

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Core Capabilities

1. Security Scanner

Scan source code for security vulnerabilities including hardcoded secrets, SQL injection, XSS, command injection, and path traversal.

# Scan project for security issues
python scripts/security_scanner.py /path/to/project

# Filter by severity
python scripts/security_scanner.py /path/to/project --severity high

# JSON output for CI/CD
python scripts/security_scanner.py /path/to/project --json --output report.json

Detects:

• Hardcoded secrets (API keys, passwords, AWS credentials, GitHub tokens, private keys)
• SQL injection patterns (string concatenation, f-strings, template literals)
• XSS vulnerabilities (innerHTML assignment, unsafe DOM manipulation, React unsafe patterns)
• Command injection (shell=True, exec, eval with user input)
• Path traversal (file operations with user input)

2. Vulnerability Assessor

Scan dependencies for known CVEs across npm, Python, and Go ecosystems.

# Assess project dependencies
python scripts/vulnerability_assessor.py /path/to/project

# Critical/high only
python scripts/vulnerability_assessor.py /path/to/project --severity high

# Export vulnerability report
python scripts/vulnerability_assessor.py /path/to/project --json --output vulns.json

Scans:

• package.json and package-lock.json (npm)
• requirements.txt and pyproject.toml (Python)
• go.mod (Go)

Output:

• CVE IDs with CVSS scores
• Affected package versions
• Fixed versions for remediation
• Overall risk score (0-100)

3. Compliance Checker

Verify security compliance against SOC 2, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR frameworks.

# Check all frameworks
python scripts/compliance_checker.py /path/to/project

# Specific framework
python scripts/compliance_checker.py /path/to/project --framework soc2
python scripts/compliance_checker.py /path/to/project --framework pci-dss
python scripts/compliance_checker.py /path/to/project --framework hipaa
python scripts/compliance_checker.py /path/to/project --framework gdpr

# Export compliance report
python scripts/compliance_checker.py /path/to/project --json --output compliance.json

Verifies:

• Access control implementation
• Encryption at rest and in transit
• Audit logging
• Authentication strength (MFA, password hashing)
• Security documentation
• CI/CD security controls

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Workflows

Workflow 1: Security Audit

Complete security assessment of a codebase.

# Step 1: Scan for code vulnerabilities
python scripts/security_scanner.py . --severity medium

# Step 2: Check dependency vulnerabilities
python scripts/vulnerability_assessor.py . --severity high

# Step 3: Verify compliance controls
python scripts/compliance_checker.py . --framework all

# Step 4: Generate combined report
python scripts/security_scanner.py . --json --output security.json
python scripts/vulnerability_assessor.py . --json --output vulns.json
python scripts/compliance_checker.py . --json --output compliance.json

Workflow 2: CI/CD Security Gate

Integrate security checks into deployment pipeline.

# .github/workflows/security.yml
name: Security Scan

on:
  pull_request:
    branches: [main, develop]

jobs:
  security-scan:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Set up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: '3.11'

      - name: Security Scanner
        run: python scripts/security_scanner.py . --severity high

      - name: Vulnerability Assessment
        run: python scripts/vulnerability_assessor.py . --severity critical

      - name: Compliance Check
        run: python scripts/compliance_checker.py . --framework soc2

Workflow 3: CVE Triage

Respond to a new CVE affecting your application.

1. ASSESS (0-2 hours)
   - Identify affected systems using vulnerability_assessor.py
   - Check if CVE is being actively exploited
   - Determine CVSS environmental score for your context

2. PRIORITIZE
   - Critical (CVSS 9.0+, internet-facing): 24 hours
   - High (CVSS 7.0-8.9): 7 days
   - Medium (CVSS 4.0-6.9): 30 days
   - Low (CVSS < 4.0): 90 days

3. REMEDIATE
   - Update affected dependency to fixed version
   - Run security_scanner.py to verify fix
   - Test for regressions
   - Deploy with enhanced monitoring

4. VERIFY
   - Re-run vulnerability_assessor.py
   - Confirm CVE no longer reported
   - Document remediation actions

Workflow 4: Incident Response

Security incident handling procedure.

PHASE 1: DETECT & IDENTIFY (0-15 min)
- Alert received and acknowledged
- Initial severity assessment (SEV-1 to SEV-4)
- Incident commander assigned
- Communication channel established

PHASE 2: CONTAIN (15-60 min)
- Affected systems identified
- Network isolation if needed
- Credentials rotated if compromised
- Preserve evidence (logs, memory dumps)

PHASE 3: ERADICATE (1-4 hours)
- Root cause identified
- Malware/backdoors removed
- Vulnerabilities patched (run security_scanner.py)
- Systems hardened

PHASE 4: RECOVER (4-24 hours)
- Systems restored from clean backup
- Services brought back online
- Enhanced monitoring enabled
- User access restored

PHASE 5: POST-INCIDENT (24-72 hours)
- Incident timeline documented
- Root cause analysis complete
- Lessons learned documented
- Preventive measures implemented
- Stakeholder report delivered

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Tool Reference

security_scanner.py

Option	Description
target	Directory or file to scan
--severity, -s	Minimum severity: critical, high, medium, low
--verbose, -v	Show files as they're scanned
--json	Output results as JSON
--output, -o	Write results to file

Exit Codes:

• 0: No critical/high findings
• 1: High severity findings
• 2: Critical severity findings

vulnerability_assessor.py

Option	Description
target	Directory containing dependency files
--severity, -s	Minimum severity: critical, high, medium, low
--verbose, -v	Show files as they're scanned
--json	Output results as JSON
--output, -o	Write results to file

Exit Codes:

• 0: No critical/high vulnerabilities
• 1: High severity vulnerabilities
• 2: Critical severity vulnerabilities

compliance_checker.py

Option	Description
target	Directory to check
--framework, -f	Framework: soc2, pci-dss, hipaa, gdpr, all
--verbose, -v	Show checks as they run
--json	Output results as JSON
--output, -o	Write results to file

Exit Codes:

• 0: Compliant (90%+ score)
• 1: Non-compliant (50-69% score)
• 2: Critical gaps (<50% score)

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Security Standards

OWASP Top 10 Prevention

Vulnerability	Prevention
A01: Broken Access Control	Implement RBAC, deny by default, validate permissions server-side
A02: Cryptographic Failures	Use TLS 1.2+, AES-256 encryption, secure key management
A03: Injection	Parameterized queries, input validation, escape output
A04: Insecure Design	Threat modeling, secure design patterns, defense in depth
A05: Security Misconfiguration	Hardening guides, remove defaults, disable unused features
A06: Vulnerable Components	Dependency scanning, automated updates, SBOM
A07: Authentication Failures	MFA, rate limiting, secure password storage
A08: Data Integrity Failures	Code signing, integrity checks, secure CI/CD
A09: Security Logging Failures	Comprehensive audit logs, SIEM integration, alerting
A10: SSRF	URL validation, allowlist destinations, network segmentation

Secure Coding Checklist

## Input Validation
- [ ] Validate all input on server side
- [ ] Use allowlists over denylists
- [ ] Sanitize for specific context (HTML, SQL, shell)

## Output Encoding
- [ ] HTML encode for browser output
- [ ] URL encode for URLs
- [ ] JavaScript encode for script contexts

## Authentication
- [ ] Use bcrypt/argon2 for passwords
- [ ] Implement MFA for sensitive operations
- [ ] Enforce strong password policy

## Session Management
- [ ] Generate secure random session IDs
- [ ] Set HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite flags
- [ ] Implement session timeout (15 min idle)

## Error Handling
- [ ] Log errors with context (no secrets)
- [ ] Return generic messages to users
- [ ] Never expose stack traces in production

## Secrets Management
- [ ] Use environment variables or secrets manager
- [ ] Never commit secrets to version control
- [ ] Rotate credentials regularly

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Compliance Frameworks

SOC 2 Type II Controls

Control	Category	Description
CC1	Control Environment	Security policies, org structure
CC2	Communication	Security awareness, documentation
CC3	Risk Assessment	Vulnerability scanning, threat modeling
CC6	Logical Access	Authentication, authorization, MFA
CC7	System Operations	Monitoring, logging, incident response
CC8	Change Management	CI/CD, code review, deployment controls

PCI-DSS v4.0 Requirements

Requirement	Description
Req 3	Protect stored cardholder data (encryption at rest)
Req 4	Encrypt transmission (TLS 1.2+)
Req 6	Secure development (input validation, secure coding)
Req 8	Strong authentication (MFA, password policy)
Req 10	Audit logging (all access to cardholder data)
Req 11	Security testing (SAST, DAST, penetration testing)

HIPAA Security Rule

Safeguard	Requirement
164.312(a)(1)	Unique user identification for PHI access
164.312(b)	Audit trails for PHI access
164.312(c)(1)	Data integrity controls
164.312(d)	Person/entity authentication (MFA)
164.312(e)(1)	Transmission encryption (TLS)

GDPR Requirements

Article	Requirement
Art 25	Privacy by design, data minimization
Art 32	Security measures, encryption, pseudonymization
Art 33	Breach notification (72 hours)
Art 17	Right to erasure (data deletion)
Art 20	Data portability (export capability)

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Best Practices

Secrets Management

# BAD: Hardcoded secret
API_KEY = "sk-1234567890abcdef"

# GOOD: Environment variable
import os
API_KEY = os.environ.get("API_KEY")

# BETTER: Secrets manager
from your_vault_client import get_secret
API_KEY = get_secret("api/key")

SQL Injection Prevention

# BAD: String concatenation
query = f"SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = {user_id}"

# GOOD: Parameterized query
cursor.execute("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = %s", (user_id,))

XSS Prevention

// BAD: Direct innerHTML assignment is vulnerable
// GOOD: Use textContent (auto-escaped)
element.textContent = userInput;

// GOOD: Use sanitization library for HTML
import DOMPurify from 'dompurify';
const safeHTML = DOMPurify.sanitize(userInput);

Authentication

// Password hashing
const bcrypt = require('bcrypt');
const SALT_ROUNDS = 12;

// Hash password
const hash = await bcrypt.hash(password, SALT_ROUNDS);

// Verify password
const match = await bcrypt.compare(password, hash);

Security Headers

// Express.js security headers
const helmet = require('helmet');
app.use(helmet());

// Or manually set headers:
app.use((req, res, next) => {
  res.setHeader('X-Content-Type-Options', 'nosniff');
  res.setHeader('X-Frame-Options', 'DENY');
  res.setHeader('X-XSS-Protection', '1; mode=block');
  res.setHeader('Strict-Transport-Security', 'max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains');
  res.setHeader('Content-Security-Policy', "default-src 'self'");
  next();
});

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Reference Documentation

Document	Description
references/security_standards.md	OWASP Top 10, secure coding, authentication, API security
references/vulnerability_management_guide.md	CVE triage, CVSS scoring, remediation workflows
references/compliance_requirements.md	SOC 2, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, GDPR requirements

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Tech Stack

Security Scanning:

• Snyk (dependency scanning)
• Semgrep (SAST)
• CodeQL (code analysis)
• Trivy (container scanning)
• OWASP ZAP (DAST)

Secrets Management:

• HashiCorp Vault
• AWS Secrets Manager
• Azure Key Vault
• 1Password Secrets Automation

Authentication:

• bcrypt, argon2 (password hashing)
• jsonwebtoken (JWT)
• passport.js (authentication middleware)
• speakeasy (TOTP/MFA)

Logging & Monitoring:

• Winston, Pino (Node.js logging)
• Datadog, Splunk (SIEM)
• PagerDuty (alerting)

Compliance:

• Vanta (SOC 2 automation)
• Drata (compliance management)
• AWS Config (configuration compliance)