Checking Infrastructure Compliance
Overview
Audit infrastructure configurations against compliance frameworks (CIS Benchmarks, SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, GDPR) using policy-as-code tools like Open Policy Agent (OPA), Checkov, and tfsec. Generate compliance reports, identify violations, and produce remediation plans for Terraform, Kubernetes, and cloud provider configurations.
Prerequisites
- Policy-as-code tool installed:
checkov, tfsec, opa, or kube-bench
- Infrastructure-as-code files (Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes manifests) in the project
- Cloud provider CLI authenticated with read access to resources
- Compliance framework requirements documented (CIS, SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS)
jq for parsing JSON policy outputs
Instructions
- Identify the applicable compliance framework(s) based on industry and data classification
- Scan Terraform files with
checkov -d . or tfsec . to detect misconfigurations
- Scan Kubernetes manifests for security issues: missing resource limits, privileged containers, missing network policies
- Validate IAM policies for least-privilege violations using cloud-native tools (
aws iam access-analyzer)
- Check encryption at rest and in transit: verify S3 bucket encryption, database TLS, and EBS volume encryption
- Audit logging configurations: confirm CloudTrail/Cloud Audit Logs are enabled and sent to immutable storage
- Generate a compliance report mapping each finding to the relevant control (e.g., CIS AWS 2.1.1)
- Produce remediation Terraform/YAML patches for each violation with severity ranking (Critical, High, Medium, Low)
- Set up CI/CD integration so compliance checks block merges on Critical/High violations
Output
- Compliance scan results in JSON/SARIF format for CI integration
- Markdown compliance report with control mappings and pass/fail status
- Remediation code patches (Terraform diffs, Kubernetes manifest updates)
- OPA/Rego policy files for custom organizational rules
- CI/CD pipeline step configuration for automated compliance gating
Error Handling
| Error |
Cause |
Solution |
checkov: no Terraform files found |
Scanner run from wrong directory |
Specify path explicitly with -d path/to/terraform/ |
tfsec: failed to parse HCL |
Syntax error in Terraform files |
Run terraform validate first to fix HCL syntax before compliance scan |
False positive on compliance check |
Rule too broad for the specific use case |
Add inline skip comments (#checkov:skip=CKV_AWS_18:Reason) or create a .checkov.yml skip list |
OPA policy evaluation error |
Rego syntax error or missing input data |
Test policies with opa eval -d policy.rego -i input.json and validate Rego syntax |
Scan timeout on large codebase |
Too many files or complex module references |
Use --compact mode, scan directories individually, or increase timeout limits |
Examples
- "Run a CIS Benchmark compliance check against all Terraform files and generate a report with remediation steps for Critical findings."
- "Create OPA policies that enforce: all S3 buckets must have encryption, all EC2 instances must have IMDSv2, and all security groups must not allow 0.0.0.0/0 ingress."
- "Scan Kubernetes manifests for PCI-DSS compliance: verify no privileged containers, all pods have resource limits, and network policies exist for every namespace."
Resources
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1---2name: jeremylongshore-claude-code-plugins-plus-skills-checking-inf3description: Checking Infrastructure Compliance4---5# Checking Infrastructure Compliance67## Overview89Audit infrastructure configurations against compliance frameworks (CIS Benchmarks, SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, GDPR) using policy-as-code tools like Open Policy Agent (OPA), Checkov, and tfsec. Generate compliance reports, identify violations, and produce remediation plans for Terraform, Kubernetes, and cloud provider configurations.1011## Prerequisites1213- Policy-as-code tool installed: `checkov`, `tfsec`, `opa`, or `kube-bench`14- Infrastructure-as-code files (Terraform, CloudFormation, Kubernetes manifests) in the project15- Cloud provider CLI authenticated with read access to resources16- Compliance framework requirements documented (CIS, SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS)17- `jq` for parsing JSON policy outputs1819## Instructions20211. Identify the applicable compliance framework(s) based on industry and data classification222. Scan Terraform files with `checkov -d .` or `tfsec .` to detect misconfigurations233. Scan Kubernetes manifests for security issues: missing resource limits, privileged containers, missing network policies244. Validate IAM policies for least-privilege violations using cloud-native tools (`aws iam access-analyzer`)255. Check encryption at rest and in transit: verify S3 bucket encryption, database TLS, and EBS volume encryption266. Audit logging configurations: confirm CloudTrail/Cloud Audit Logs are enabled and sent to immutable storage277. Generate a compliance report mapping each finding to the relevant control (e.g., CIS AWS 2.1.1)288. Produce remediation Terraform/YAML patches for each violation with severity ranking (Critical, High, Medium, Low)299. Set up CI/CD integration so compliance checks block merges on Critical/High violations3031## Output3233- Compliance scan results in JSON/SARIF format for CI integration34- Markdown compliance report with control mappings and pass/fail status35- Remediation code patches (Terraform diffs, Kubernetes manifest updates)36- OPA/Rego policy files for custom organizational rules37- CI/CD pipeline step configuration for automated compliance gating3839## Error Handling4041| Error | Cause | Solution |42|-------|-------|---------|43| `checkov: no Terraform files found` | Scanner run from wrong directory | Specify path explicitly with `-d path/to/terraform/` |44| `tfsec: failed to parse HCL` | Syntax error in Terraform files | Run `terraform validate` first to fix HCL syntax before compliance scan |45| `False positive on compliance check` | Rule too broad for the specific use case | Add inline skip comments (`#checkov:skip=CKV_AWS_18:Reason`) or create a `.checkov.yml` skip list |46| `OPA policy evaluation error` | Rego syntax error or missing input data | Test policies with `opa eval -d policy.rego -i input.json` and validate Rego syntax |47| `Scan timeout on large codebase` | Too many files or complex module references | Use `--compact` mode, scan directories individually, or increase timeout limits |4849## Examples5051- "Run a CIS Benchmark compliance check against all Terraform files and generate a report with remediation steps for Critical findings."52- "Create OPA policies that enforce: all S3 buckets must have encryption, all EC2 instances must have IMDSv2, and all security groups must not allow 0.0.0.0/0 ingress."53- "Scan Kubernetes manifests for PCI-DSS compliance: verify no privileged containers, all pods have resource limits, and network policies exist for every namespace."5455## Resources5657- Checkov: https://www.checkov.io/58- tfsec: https://aquasecurity.github.io/tfsec/59- Open Policy Agent: https://www.openpolicyagent.org/docs/latest/60- CIS Benchmarks: https://www.cisecurity.org/cis-benchmarks61- kube-bench (CIS for Kubernetes): https://github.com/aquasecurity/kube-bench6263---64> Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/jeremylongshore) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.65<!-- tomevault:4.0:skill_md:2026-04-11 -->
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