Security Architecture

Security Architecture Skill

Purpose

This skill defines requirements for security architecture documentation following Hack23 ISMS policies. It ensures that security controls, threat models, and defense-in-depth strategies are properly documented and maintained for all systems.

Rules

Required Documentation

MUST CREATE:

• SECURITY_ARCHITECTURE.md - Current security controls and architecture
• FUTURE_SECURITY_ARCHITECTURE.md - Planned security improvements
• THREAT_MODEL.md - Threat analysis and mitigations
• Security section in main README.md
• Security policy (.github/SECURITY.md)

SECURITY_ARCHITECTURE.md Requirements

MUST INCLUDE:

1. Overview - System security posture summary
2. Security Controls - Implemented controls mapped to frameworks (ISO 27001, NIST CSF, CIS Controls)
3. Authentication & Authorization - Identity management approach
4. Data Protection - Encryption at rest and in transit
5. Network Security - Firewall rules, network segmentation, DMZ architecture
6. Monitoring & Logging - Security event logging and SIEM integration
7. Incident Response - Security incident handling procedures
8. Compliance Mapping - How architecture meets compliance requirements
9. Security Diagrams - C4 diagrams showing trust boundaries and security zones

MUST NOT:

• Expose sensitive security details (specific firewall rules, vulnerability details)
• Include credentials or secrets
• Document security through obscurity approaches

FUTURE_SECURITY_ARCHITECTURE.md Requirements

MUST INCLUDE:

1. Security Roadmap - Planned security enhancements with timeline
2. Gap Analysis - Current vs. desired state
3. Security Initiatives - Planned projects to improve security
4. Technology Evolution - Future security technologies to adopt
5. Risk Mitigation Plans - How future changes will reduce risks
6. Compliance Improvements - Plans to meet future compliance requirements

THREAT_MODEL.md Requirements

MUST INCLUDE:

1. System Overview - What is being protected
2. Assets - Critical data and systems
3. Threat Actors - Who might attack and their motivations
4. Attack Vectors - How attacks might occur
5. Threats - Specific threats using STRIDE or similar methodology:
   • Spoofing
   • Tampering
   • Repudiation
   • Information Disclosure
   • Denial of Service
   • Elevation of Privilege
6. Risk Assessment - Likelihood and impact of each threat
7. Mitigations - Controls to prevent or reduce each threat
8. Residual Risks - Accepted risks after mitigations

Threat Prioritization:

• Critical: Immediate action required
• High: Remediate within 30 days
• Medium: Remediate within 90 days
• Low: Accept or remediate opportunistically

Defense-in-Depth Layers

MUST IMPLEMENT:

1. Perimeter Security

   • Web Application Firewall (WAF)
   • DDoS protection
   • Rate limiting
   • Geo-blocking (if applicable)

2. Network Security

   • Network segmentation (DMZ, application tier, data tier)
   • VPN for remote access
   • Zero-trust networking
   • Private subnets for sensitive resources

3. Application Security

   • Input validation
   • Output encoding
   • Authentication & authorization
   • Session management
   • CSRF protection
   • Secure headers (CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options)

4. Data Security

   • Encryption at rest (AES-256)
   • Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+)
   • Data classification and handling
   • Secure key management
   • Database access controls

5. Monitoring & Detection

   • Security event logging
   • Intrusion detection/prevention (IDS/IPS)
   • Anomaly detection
   • Security alerts and incident response
   • Audit logging

6. Physical Security

   • Secure data center (for on-premise)
   • Access controls
   • Environmental controls
   • Asset management

Security Control Categories

Preventive Controls:

• Access controls
• Encryption
• Input validation
• Firewall rules
• Secure configuration

Detective Controls:

• Logging
• Monitoring
• Intrusion detection
• Vulnerability scanning
• Audit reviews

Corrective Controls:

• Incident response
• Patch management
• Backup and recovery
• Business continuity

Deterrent Controls:

• Security awareness training
• Legal agreements (NDAs)
• Security policies
• Audit reports

Security Zones

Public Zone (Untrusted):

• Static website content
• Public APIs (read-only, rate-limited)
• CDN distribution

DMZ (Semi-trusted):

• Web servers
• API gateways
• Load balancers
• WAF

Application Zone (Trusted):

• Application servers
• Business logic
• Internal APIs
• Background workers

Data Zone (Highly Trusted):

• Databases
• File storage with sensitive data
• Key management systems
• Backup systems

Examples

Example 1: SECURITY_ARCHITECTURE.md Template

# Security Architecture - Hack23 Homepage

## Overview

The Hack23 Homepage is a static website deployed on AWS S3 with CloudFront CDN. Security is implemented through defense-in-depth with multiple layers of protection.

**Security Posture:** Public-facing static website with no user authentication or sensitive data processing.

## Security Controls

### ISO 27001:2022 Controls Implemented

| Control | Implementation | Status |
|---------|---------------|--------|
| A.8.24 Use of cryptography | TLS 1.2+ enforced via CloudFront | ✅ Implemented |
| A.8.9 Configuration management | Infrastructure as Code (Terraform) | ✅ Implemented |
| A.8.16 Monitoring | CloudWatch logging and alarms | ✅ Implemented |
| A.5.7 Threat intelligence | ZAP security scanning in CI/CD | ✅ Implemented |

### NIST Cybersecurity Framework

| Function | Category | Implementation |
|----------|----------|----------------|
| Identify | Asset Management | Repository inventory, dependency tracking |
| Protect | Access Control | GitHub branch protection, AWS IAM roles |
| Detect | Security Monitoring | GitHub Advanced Security, CloudWatch |
| Respond | Incident Response | SECURITY.md vulnerability reporting |
| Recover | Backup & Recovery | Git version control, S3 versioning |

## Authentication & Authorization

**Public Access:**
- No authentication required for website content
- All content is PUBLIC classification

**Administrative Access:**
- GitHub authentication with 2FA required
- AWS IAM roles with least privilege
- Branch protection rules on main branch

## Data Protection

**Data Classification:**
- All website content: PUBLIC
- No personal data collected
- No cookies or tracking (privacy by design)

**Encryption:**
- **In Transit**: TLS 1.2+ enforced on CloudFront
- **At Rest**: S3 server-side encryption (AES-256)

**Data Retention:**
- Git history retained indefinitely
- CloudWatch logs retained 90 days
- No user data to retain

## Network Security

### Architecture Diagram

```mermaid
C4Container
    title Security Architecture - Hack23 Homepage

    Person(visitor, "Visitor", "Public user")
    
    System_Boundary(aws, "AWS Cloud") {
        Container(cloudfront, "CloudFront CDN", "AWS CDN", "TLS termination, caching")
        Container(waf, "AWS WAF", "Web Application Firewall", "DDoS protection, rate limiting")
        Container(s3, "S3 Bucket", "Static Storage", "Encrypted website files")
    }
    
    System_Ext(github, "GitHub Actions", "CI/CD", "Automated deployment")
    
    Rel(visitor, cloudfront, "HTTPS only", "TLS 1.2+")
    Rel(cloudfront, waf, "Filtered traffic")
    Rel(cloudfront, s3, "Fetch content", "HTTPS")
    Rel(github, s3, "Deploy", "AWS SDK with IAM")

Security Zones

• Public Zone: CloudFront CDN (all traffic)
• Storage Zone: S3 bucket (restricted to CloudFront and GitHub Actions)

Firewall Rules

• CloudFront: Accept HTTPS (443) only, redirect HTTP to HTTPS
• S3: Block all public access, allow only CloudFront OAI and GitHub Actions IAM role
• WAF: Rate limiting (100 requests/5 minutes per IP), geo-blocking for known threat countries

Monitoring & Logging

Logging:

• CloudFront access logs → S3 bucket
• S3 access logs enabled
• GitHub Actions workflow logs
• AWS CloudTrail for API activity

Monitoring:

• CloudWatch alarms for:
  • High error rates (4xx, 5xx)
  • Unusual traffic patterns
  • Failed deployments

Security Scanning:

• CodeQL analysis on every commit
• Dependency vulnerability scanning (Dependabot)
• ZAP security scan before deployment
• Lighthouse security audit

Incident Response

Security Incident Handling:

1. Detection: Automated alerts, manual reports via SECURITY.md
2. Assessment: Triage severity (Critical/High/Medium/Low)
3. Containment: Roll back deployment if needed, block malicious IPs in WAF
4. Eradication: Fix vulnerability, patch systems
5. Recovery: Deploy fixed version, verify integrity
6. Lessons Learned: Update security controls, document in post-mortem

Contact: security@hack23.com

Compliance Mapping

ISO 27001:2022

• A.8.24: TLS 1.2+ encryption
• A.8.9: Infrastructure as Code
• A.8.16: CloudWatch monitoring
• A.5.7: Automated security scanning

GDPR

• No personal data collected (Article 4)
• Privacy by design (Article 25)
• No cookies, no tracking

WCAG 2.1 AA

• Accessibility statement published
• Regular accessibility audits via Lighthouse

Security Metrics

Risk Register

See THREAT_MODEL.md for detailed threat analysis.

Security Improvements

See FUTURE_SECURITY_ARCHITECTURE.md for planned enhancements.

### Example 2: THREAT_MODEL.md Template

```markdown
# Threat Model - Hack23 Homepage

## System Overview

Static corporate website hosted on AWS S3 with CloudFront CDN. No user authentication, no sensitive data processing, no backend application logic.

## Assets

| Asset | Classification | Value |
|-------|---------------|-------|
| Website content | PUBLIC | Low (reputational impact) |
| GitHub repository | INTERNAL | Medium (intellectual property) |
| AWS infrastructure | CONFIDENTIAL | High (cost, availability) |
| Domain reputation | N/A | High (business impact) |

## Threat Actors

| Actor | Motivation | Capability |
|-------|-----------|-----------|
| Script kiddies | Vandalism, bragging rights | Low |
| Competitors | Reputation damage | Medium |
| Hacktivists | Political statement | Medium |
| Nation-states | Espionage, disruption | High |

## Attack Vectors

1. **Web Application Attacks**
   - XSS injection via compromised supply chain
   - Content injection via compromised build pipeline
   - DDoS attacks

2. **Supply Chain Attacks**
   - Compromised dependencies
   - Malicious GitHub Actions
   - Compromised build tools

3. **Infrastructure Attacks**
   - AWS credential compromise
   - S3 bucket misconfiguration
   - CloudFront compromise

4. **Social Engineering**
   - GitHub account takeover
   - Phishing for AWS credentials

## Threats (STRIDE Analysis)

### Spoofing

| Threat | Likelihood | Impact | Risk | Mitigation | Status |
|--------|-----------|--------|------|-----------|--------|
| Attacker impersonates Hack23 website | Low | High | Medium | HTTPS with HSTS, valid SSL cert | ✅ Mitigated |
| GitHub account takeover | Medium | High | High | 2FA required, strong passwords | ✅ Mitigated |
| AWS credential compromise | Low | Critical | High | IAM roles, no long-lived keys, AWS MFA | ✅ Mitigated |

### Tampering

| Threat | Likelihood | Impact | Risk | Mitigation | Status |
|--------|-----------|--------|------|-----------|--------|
| Malicious code injection in build | Low | High | Medium | Code review, branch protection, CodeQL | ✅ Mitigated |
| S3 content modification | Low | High | Medium | S3 versioning, access logging, IAM restrictions | ✅ Mitigated |
| Dependency substitution | Medium | High | High | Package lock files, Dependabot alerts | ⚠️ Partial |

### Repudiation

| Threat | Likelihood | Impact | Risk | Mitigation | Status |
|--------|-----------|--------|------|-----------|--------|
| Unauthorized changes without audit trail | Low | Medium | Low | Git history, GitHub audit log, CloudTrail | ✅ Mitigated |

### Information Disclosure

| Threat | Likelihood | Impact | Risk | Mitigation | Status |
|--------|-----------|--------|------|-----------|--------|
| Exposure of internal documentation | Low | Low | Low | No sensitive info in public repo, separate ISMS repo | ✅ Mitigated |
| AWS credentials leaked in logs | Low | High | Medium | No secrets in code, secret scanning enabled | ✅ Mitigated |

### Denial of Service

| Threat | Likelihood | Impact | Risk | Mitigation | Status |
|--------|-----------|--------|------|-----------|--------|
| DDoS attack on website | Medium | Medium | Medium | CloudFront DDoS protection, WAF rate limiting | ✅ Mitigated |
| S3 bucket deletion | Low | High | Medium | S3 versioning, MFA delete, backups | ✅ Mitigated |
| GitHub repository deletion | Low | High | Medium | Repository protection rules, backups | ✅ Mitigated |

### Elevation of Privilege

| Threat | Likelihood | Impact | Risk | Mitigation | Status |
|--------|-----------|--------|------|-----------|--------|
| Privilege escalation in GitHub | Low | High | Medium | Least privilege, branch protection, audit logging | ✅ Mitigated |
| AWS IAM privilege escalation | Low | Critical | High | Least privilege IAM policies, AWS Organizations SCPs | ✅ Mitigated |

## Risk Assessment Summary

| Risk Level | Count | Action Required |
|-----------|-------|-----------------|
| Critical | 0 | N/A |
| High | 3 | Monitor and maintain mitigations |
| Medium | 5 | Review quarterly |
| Low | 2 | Accept |

## Residual Risks

### Accepted Risks

1. **Dependency vulnerabilities (Medium)**
   - Justification: Low exploitability for static site, regular updates via Dependabot
   - Mitigation: Quarterly dependency reviews, automated security scans

2. **DDoS attacks (Medium)**
   - Justification: CloudFront provides adequate protection, complete prevention impossible
   - Mitigation: CloudFront DDoS Shield, WAF rate limiting, monitoring

## Security Controls Summary

| Control | Type | Status |
|---------|------|--------|
| HTTPS/TLS 1.2+ | Preventive | ✅ Implemented |
| AWS WAF | Preventive | ✅ Implemented |
| IAM least privilege | Preventive | ✅ Implemented |
| 2FA for GitHub | Preventive | ✅ Implemented |
| Code review | Preventive | ✅ Implemented |
| Branch protection | Preventive | ✅ Implemented |
| CodeQL scanning | Detective | ✅ Implemented |
| Dependabot alerts | Detective | ✅ Implemented |
| CloudWatch monitoring | Detective | ✅ Implemented |
| S3 versioning | Corrective | ✅ Implemented |
| Incident response plan | Corrective | ✅ Implemented |

## Review Schedule

- **Threat model review**: Annually or after significant changes
- **Risk assessment**: Quarterly
- **Control effectiveness**: Monthly (automated), Quarterly (manual)

**Last Reviewed:** 2025-01-24
**Next Review:** 2026-01-24

Related ISMS Policies

• Information Security Policy - Overall security framework
• Risk Assessment Policy - Risk management approach
• Incident Response Policy - Security incident handling
• Security Monitoring Policy - Logging and monitoring requirements

Related Documentation

• SECURITY_ARCHITECTURE.md - Current security architecture
• FUTURE_SECURITY_ARCHITECTURE.md - Future security plans
• THREAT_MODEL.md - Detailed threat analysis
• c4-modeling SKILL.md - C4 diagram creation
• secure-development SKILL.md - Secure coding practices

Compliance Mapping

ISO 27001:2022

• A.5.7 Threat intelligence
• A.5.24 Security event logging
• A.5.28 Collection of evidence
• A.8.8 Management of technical vulnerabilities
• A.8.16 Monitoring activities

NIST Cybersecurity Framework

• ID.RA-1: Asset vulnerabilities are identified
• ID.RA-2: Cyber threat intelligence is received
• ID.RA-3: Threats are identified and documented
• PR.IP-12: A vulnerability management plan is developed

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