---
name: cloud-security-posture-reviewer
description: "Reviews a described cloud environment against a structured security control framework spanning IAM, encryption at rest and in transit, network segmentation, vulnerability management, logging and monitoring, and compliance alignment (SOC 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP) — producing scored findings, ranked remediation actions, and a compliance gap map. Use when assessing cloud security controls, preparing for an audit, hardening a new environment, or diagnosing gaps across AWS, Azure, or GCP."
argument-hint: "[cloud-provider] [environment-scope]"
allowed-tools: ["Read"]
---

# Cloud Security Posture Reviewer

## Purpose
Assess a described cloud environment against a six-domain security control framework and produce scored findings, a ranked remediation plan, and a compliance gap map — so security leaders can move from "we think we're secure" to a defensible, prioritized posture assessment without a full manual audit.

## When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Review the security posture of an AWS, Azure, or GCP environment
- Assess cloud security controls against a checklist or framework
- Prepare a cloud environment for a SOC 2, ISO 27001, or FedRAMP audit
- Diagnose security gaps in an existing or newly provisioned cloud account
- Harden IAM, encryption, network segmentation, or logging configurations
- Build a remediation roadmap for cloud security findings

## Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- **Cloud provider(s)**: AWS, Azure, GCP, or multi-cloud
- **Environment scope**: What's in scope — production, staging, specific accounts/subscriptions/projects, workload types
- **IAM setup**: How identity, roles, MFA, and privileged access are currently configured
- **Data & encryption**: What data is stored, where, and current encryption at rest / in transit posture
- **Network architecture**: VPC/VNet structure, segmentation, public exposure, ingress/egress controls
- **Logging & monitoring**: What's currently logged (CloudTrail, Azure Monitor, Cloud Audit Logs), retention, alerting
- **Target compliance framework(s)**: SOC 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, or none specified

If the target compliance framework is unspecified, default to SOC 2 Type II as the baseline and note the assumption. If a domain's configuration is not described, mark it "Undocumented — assessment gap" rather than assuming it is secure.

## Instructions

### Step 1: Scope Confirmation & Risk Context
Establish what is being reviewed and against what standard.
- Confirm the provider, in-scope accounts, and environment tier (production vs. non-production changes severity weighting)
- Identify the data sensitivity tier: public / internal / confidential / regulated (PII, PHI, cardholder, federal)
- Set the compliance lens (SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / FedRAMP) — this determines which controls are mandatory vs. recommended
- Note any control described as "Undocumented" and flag it as an assessment gap to close

### Step 2: Score Each of the Six Control Domains
For each domain, assign a maturity rating and cite specific findings. Use this scale:
- **Strong** — control fully implemented, enforced, and monitored
- **Adequate** — implemented but with gaps in coverage, enforcement, or evidence
- **Weak** — partially implemented or not enforced
- **Missing** — control absent
- **Undocumented** — not described; cannot be assessed

**Domain 1 — Identity & Access Management (IAM)**
- Root/global-admin account: MFA enforced, no daily use, no active access keys
- Least privilege: policies scoped to need; no wildcard `*:*` or Owner-level sprawl
- MFA enforced for all human users; SSO/federation over standalone accounts
- Service/workload identities use roles, not long-lived static keys
- Privileged access: just-in-time or break-glass with logging; regular access reviews
- Password/key rotation policy and stale credential cleanup

**Domain 2 — Encryption at Rest & in Transit**
- At rest: default encryption enabled on object storage, block storage, databases, snapshots, backups
- Key management: customer-managed keys (CMK/KMS) where required; key rotation enabled
- In transit: TLS 1.2+ enforced; no plaintext internal service traffic; HTTPS-only endpoints
- No publicly readable storage buckets/blobs holding sensitive data
- Secrets stored in a secrets manager, not in code, env vars, or config

**Domain 3 — Network Segmentation**
- Environments (prod/non-prod) isolated at the network boundary
- Security groups / NSGs / firewall rules follow deny-by-default; no `0.0.0.0/0` on sensitive ports (22, 3389, database ports)
- Public vs. private subnet separation; sensitive workloads not directly internet-facing
- Egress filtering in place; no unrestricted outbound
- WAF and DDoS protection on public entry points; private connectivity (PrivateLink/Private Endpoint) for internal services

**Domain 4 — Vulnerability Management**
- Automated image/host scanning; base images patched and maintained
- Defined patch SLAs by severity (e.g., critical within 15 days for FedRAMP)
- Container/registry scanning and IaC scanning in CI/CD
- Exposure of unpatched public-facing services; EOL runtimes or OS versions
- Remediation tracking with ownership and deadlines

**Domain 5 — Logging & Monitoring**
- Provider-native audit logging enabled across all accounts/regions (CloudTrail / Azure Activity + Diagnostic / Cloud Audit Logs)
- Logs centralized, tamper-resistant, and retained to meet the target framework (SOC 2: 12 months; FedRAMP: often longer)
- Security monitoring: GuardDuty / Defender for Cloud / Security Command Center enabled
- Alerting on high-risk events (root login, IAM policy change, security group open, key deletion)
- Incident response runbook and defined escalation path

**Domain 6 — Compliance Alignment**
- Map current posture to the target framework's control families
- SOC 2: access controls, change management, monitoring, encryption, availability
- ISO 27001: Annex A controls — A.5 (access), A.8 (asset/crypto), A.12 (operations), A.16 (incident)
- FedRAMP: NIST 800-53 baseline — AC, AU, SC, SI families; boundary and continuous monitoring
- Identify controls with no supporting evidence — audit failures come from missing evidence as often as missing controls

### Step 3: Assign Severity to Each Finding
Rate every gap on likelihood × impact:
- **Critical** — active exploitable exposure (public sensitive data, open admin ports, unencrypted regulated data, no MFA on privileged access)
- **High** — significant gap likely to cause a breach or audit failure
- **Medium** — meaningful weakness with partial mitigation
- **Low** — hardening opportunity or best-practice gap
Weight production and regulated-data findings one level higher than equivalent non-prod findings.

### Step 4: Build the Ranked Remediation Plan
Order remediation by severity, then by effort-to-impact ratio (quick wins first within a severity band). For each of the top 10 actions provide:
1. The finding and affected domain
2. Severity
3. Specific remediation step (concrete, provider-appropriate — not "improve IAM")
4. Effort estimate: Quick (<1 day) / Moderate (days) / Project (weeks)
5. Compliance control(s) it satisfies

### Step 5: Produce the Compliance Gap Map & Posture Summary
- A table mapping each of the six domains → maturity rating → target-framework status (Met / Partial / Gap)
- An overall posture score: sum domain ratings into a summary (e.g., "3 of 6 domains Adequate or better; 2 Critical findings block audit readiness")
- A one-paragraph executive summary written for a CISO: current state, top risks, and audit-readiness verdict

## Output Format
- **Structure**: Scope summary → six-domain findings (rated, with specific observations) → severity-classified findings list → top 10 ranked remediation plan → compliance gap map table → executive posture summary
- **Length**: 1,100–1,500 words
- **Format**: Structured document — findings as labeled bullets per domain, remediation as a numbered ranked list, gap map as a table
- **Sections**: Scope & Risk Context → Domain Findings (IAM, Encryption, Network, Vulnerability, Logging, Compliance) → Severity-Classified Findings → Top 10 Remediation Plan → Compliance Gap Map → Executive Summary
- **Tone**: Security assessor — evidence-based, direct, and unsentimental; states risk plainly without alarmism and never marks an undocumented control as passing

## Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] All six control domains are rated with a specific maturity level (Strong/Adequate/Weak/Missing/Undocumented)
- [ ] Every finding cites a concrete observation, not a generic control statement
- [ ] No undescribed control is assumed secure — undocumented items are flagged as assessment gaps
- [ ] Top 10 remediation actions are ranked by severity and each names a specific, provider-appropriate fix
- [ ] The compliance gap map maps all six domains to Met/Partial/Gap against the target framework
- [ ] Every remediation action is tied to at least one compliance control it satisfies

## Notes
- Public storage exposure and missing MFA on privileged access are the two findings most likely to be Critical — check them first.
- Audits fail on evidence as often as on controls; a technically-implemented control with no logging or documentation should be rated "Adequate" at best.
- FedRAMP shifts many "recommended" controls to mandatory and lengthens retention and patch SLAs — reweight severity accordingly when it is the target framework.
- This review assesses a described configuration; recommend pairing it with automated tooling (Security Hub, Defender for Cloud, SCC, or a CSPM platform) for live evidence before an audit.

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