senior-security

What this skill does

# Senior Security Engineer

Security engineering tools for threat modeling, vulnerability analysis, secure architecture design, and penetration testing.

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## Table of Contents

- [Threat Modeling Workflow](#threat-modeling-workflow)
- [Security Architecture Workflow](#security-architecture-workflow)
- [Vulnerability Assessment Workflow](#vulnerability-assessment-workflow)
- [Secure Code Review Workflow](#secure-code-review-workflow)
- [Incident Response Workflow](#incident-response-workflow)
- [Security Tools Reference](#security-tools-reference)
- [Tools and References](#tools-and-references)

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## Threat Modeling Workflow

Identify and analyze security threats using STRIDE methodology.

### Workflow: Conduct Threat Model

1. Define system scope and boundaries:
   - Identify assets to protect
   - Map trust boundaries
   - Document data flows
2. Create data flow diagram:
   - External entities (users, services)
   - Processes (application components)
   - Data stores (databases, caches)
   - Data flows (APIs, network connections)
3. Apply STRIDE to each DFD element (see [STRIDE per Element Matrix](#stride-per-element-matrix) below)
4. Score risks using DREAD:
   - Damage potential (1-10)
   - Reproducibility (1-10)
   - Exploitability (1-10)
   - Affected users (1-10)
   - Discoverability (1-10)
5. Prioritize threats by risk score
6. Define mitigations for each threat
7. Document in threat model report
8. **Validation:** All DFD elements analyzed; STRIDE applied; threats scored; mitigations mapped

### STRIDE Threat Categories

| Category | Security Property | Mitigation Focus |
|----------|-------------------|------------------|
| Spoofing | Authentication | MFA, certificates, strong auth |
| Tampering | Integrity | Signing, checksums, validation |
| Repudiation | Non-repudiation | Audit logs, digital signatures |
| Information Disclosure | Confidentiality | Encryption, access controls |
| Denial of Service | Availability | Rate limiting, redundancy |
| Elevation of Privilege | Authorization | RBAC, least privilege |

### STRIDE per Element Matrix

| DFD Element | S | T | R | I | D | E |
|-------------|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| External Entity | X | | X | | | |
| Process | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| Data Store | | X | X | X | X | |
| Data Flow | | X | | X | X | |

See: [references/threat-modeling-guide.md](references/threat-modeling-guide.md)

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## Security Architecture Workflow

Design secure systems using defense-in-depth principles.

### Workflow: Design Secure Architecture

1. Define security requirements:
   - Compliance requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS)
   - Data classification (public, internal, confidential, restricted)
   - Threat model inputs
2. Apply defense-in-depth layers:
   - Perimeter: WAF, DDoS protection, rate limiting
   - Network: Segmentation, IDS/IPS, mTLS
   - Host: Patching, EDR, hardening
   - Application: Input validation, authentication, secure coding
   - Data: Encryption at rest and in transit
3. Implement Zero Trust principles:
   - Verify explicitly (every request)
   - Least privilege access (JIT/JEA)
   - Assume breach (segment, monitor)
4. Configure authentication and authorization:
   - Identity provider selection
   - MFA requirements
   - RBAC/ABAC model
5. Design encryption strategy:
   - Key management approach
   - Algorithm selection
   - Certificate lifecycle
6. Plan security monitoring:
   - Log aggregation
   - SIEM integration
   - Alerting rules
7. Document architecture decisions
8. **Validation:** Defense-in-depth layers defined; Zero Trust applied; encryption strategy documented; monitoring planned

### Defense-in-Depth Layers

```
Layer 1: PERIMETER
  WAF, DDoS mitigation, DNS filtering, rate limiting

Layer 2: NETWORK
  Segmentation, IDS/IPS, network monitoring, VPN, mTLS

Layer 3: HOST
  Endpoint protection, OS hardening, patching, logging

Layer 4: APPLICATION
  Input validation, authentication, secure coding, SAST

Layer 5: DATA
  Encryption at rest/transit, access controls, DLP, backup
```

### Authentication Pattern Selection

| Use Case | Recommended Pattern |
|----------|---------------------|
| Web application | OAuth 2.0 + PKCE with OIDC |
| API authentication | JWT with short expiration + refresh tokens |
| Service-to-service | mTLS with certificate rotation |
| CLI/Automation | API keys with IP allowlisting |
| High security | FIDO2/WebAuthn hardware keys |

See: [references/security-architecture-patterns.md](references/security-architecture-patterns.md)

---

## Vulnerability Assessment Workflow

Identify and remediate security vulnerabilities in applications.

### Workflow: Conduct Vulnerability Assessment

1. Define assessment scope:
   - In-scope systems and applications
   - Testing methodology (black box, gray box, white box)
   - Rules of engagement
2. Gather information:
   - Technology stack inventory
   - Architecture documentation
   - Previous vulnerability reports
3. Perform automated scanning:
   - SAST (static analysis)
   - DAST (dynamic analysis)
   - Dependency scanning
   - Secret detection
4. Conduct manual testing:
   - Business logic flaws
   - Authentication bypass
   - Authorization issues
   - Injection vulnerabilities
5. Classify findings by severity:
   - Critical: Immediate exploitation risk
   - High: Significant impact, easier to exploit
   - Medium: Moderate impact or difficulty
   - Low: Minor impact
6. Develop remediation plan:
   - Prioritize by risk
   - Assign owners
   - Set deadlines
7. Verify fixes and document
8. **Validation:** Scope defined; automated and manual testing complete; findings classified; remediation tracked

For OWASP Top 10 vulnerability descriptions and testing guidance, refer to [owasp.org/Top10](https://owasp.org/Top10).

### Vulnerability Severity Matrix

| Impact \ Exploitability | Easy | Moderate | Difficult |
|-------------------------|------|----------|-----------|
| Critical | Critical | Critical | High |
| High | Critical | High | Medium |
| Medium | High | Medium | Low |
| Low | Medium | Low | Low |

---

## Secure Code Review Workflow

Review code for security vulnerabilities before deployment.

### Workflow: Conduct Security Code Review

1. Establish review scope:
   - Changed files and functions
   - Security-sensitive areas (auth, crypto, input handling)
   - Third-party integrations
2. Run automated analysis:
   - SAST tools (Semgrep, CodeQL, Bandit)
   - Secret scanning
   - Dependency vulnerability check
3. Review authentication code:
   - Password handling (hashing, storage)
   - Session management
   - Token validation
4. Review authorization code:
   - Access control checks
   - RBAC implementation
   - Privilege boundaries
5. Review data handling:
   - Input validation
   - Output encoding
   - SQL query construction
   - File path handling
6. Review cryptographic code:
   - Algorithm selection
   - Key management
   - Random number generation
7. Document findings with severity
8. **Validation:** Automated scans passed; auth/authz reviewed; data handling checked; crypto verified; findings documented

### Security Code Review Checklist

| Category | Check | Risk |
|----------|-------|------|
| Input Validation | All user input validated and sanitized | Injection |
| Output Encoding | Context-appropriate encoding applied | XSS |
| Authentication | Passwords hashed with Argon2/bcrypt | Credential theft |
| Session | Secure cookie flags set (HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite) | Session hijacking |
| Authorization | Server-side permission checks on all endpoints | Privilege escalation |
| SQL | Parameterized queries used exclusively | SQL injection |
| File Access | Path traversal sequences rejected | Path traversal |
| Secrets | No hardcoded credentials or keys | Information disclosure |
| Dependencies | Known vulnerable packages updated | Supply chain |
| Logging | Sensitive data not logged | Information disclosure |

### Secure vs Insecure Patterns

| Pattern | Issue | Secure Alternative |
|---------|-----