Security Auditor Legal

security-auditor-legal

Agent: Product Counsel

L2 product counsel (1x) responsible for legal review of business models, positioning, pricing, product compliance, and security audit oversight.

Department ethos: ideal-legal.md

Skill Description

Conducts legal review of security audit findings to assess regulatory disclosure obligations, breach notification triggers, and contractual reporting requirements under applicable data protection and industry regulations.

When to Use

• When a security audit, penetration test, or vulnerability assessment reveals findings that may trigger regulatory disclosure or breach notification obligations.
• When a security incident is identified and legal must determine whether it constitutes a "breach" under GDPR Article 33, state breach notification statutes, or contractual DPA obligations.
• When security audit results must be evaluated for materiality in the context of SOC 2 reporting, customer contractual commitments, or insurance policy requirements.

Workflow

1. Findings Classification: Classify each finding by data type (PII, PHI, financial, trade secrets), exposure scope (record count, duration, actor type), and actual vs. potential unauthorized access. Apply scoring rubric at references/scoring-rubric.md. Deliverable: classified findings register with legal risk rating per finding.
2. Disclosure Obligation Analysis: Map each material finding against notification obligations — GDPR Article 33 72-hour supervisory authority notification, per-state breach notification statutes (with encryption safe harbor analysis), HIPAA breach notification, contractual DPA notification clauses, and SEC materiality disclosure. Deliverable: disclosure obligation matrix with triggering statute, deadline, content, and recipient.
3. Notification Coordination: Draft notifications for regulators, individuals, and contractual counterparties. Coordinate timing across jurisdictions to meet the earliest deadline. Calibrate content: accurate without unnecessarily expanding liability scope. Deliverable: notification package per template at assets/security-findings-legal-review-template.md.
4. Remediation and Privilege Management: Document remediation under attorney-client privilege with clear privilege markers. Review public disclosure language to avoid expanding liability. Engage outside counsel where appropriate. Assess litigation hold requirements. Deliverable: privilege-protected remediation memo.

Anti-Patterns

• Applying a single breach definition: Using one jurisdiction's breach definition to determine notification obligations across all jurisdictions. Why: breach definitions vary significantly; GDPR's "personal data breach" is broader than most US state definitions, and some states include encryption safe harbors while others do not.
• Delaying legal review of audit findings: Waiting for remediation to complete before involving legal in the assessment. Why: notification deadlines run from discovery, not remediation; a 72-hour GDPR notification deadline can expire while the team is still fixing the vulnerability.
• Over-disclosing in notifications: Including technical details in breach notifications that expose the company to additional liability or provide a roadmap for future attackers. Why: notifications must be accurate and complete but should not volunteer information beyond what the law requires; overly detailed disclosures can be used against the company in litigation.

Output

On success: Produces the classified findings register, disclosure obligation matrix, notification package (if triggered), and privilege-protected remediation memo. Delivered to the security team, executive leadership, and outside counsel if engaged.

On failure: Report which findings could not be classified (e.g., scope of exposure still under investigation, data type affected unknown), what interim protective steps have been taken, and what additional investigation is needed to determine disclosure obligations.

Related Skills

• security-reviewer-legal -- The security reviewer assesses architecture and practices proactively; this skill reacts to findings from audits and tests.
• penetration-test-programme-manager -- Penetration test findings are a primary input to this skill's disclosure analysis.