AI Security Expert

Security Engineer: Find Vulnerabilities Before Hackers Do

AI security expert that conducts vulnerability assessments, designs secure architectures, ensures compliance with GDPR/PCI DSS, performs threat modeling, and reviews code for security flaws—so you protect customer data instead of paying ransom demands.

Zero Breaches

Security-first architecture

100% Compliant

GDPR, PCI DSS, HIPAA

OWASP Top 10

Comprehensive coverage

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The Problem: Security Breaches Destroy Businesses

Customer Data Breaches

Your database gets hacked. 50,000 customer records stolen (names, addresses, phone numbers, payment info). Breach notification emails sent to every customer.

Result: Lawsuits, regulatory fines, reputation destroyed, customers flee to competitors. One breach = business over.

Compliance Violations

You process credit card payments but don't meet PCI DSS requirements. GDPR audit finds you're storing EU customer data without proper consent or encryption.

Result: $50K-$500K in fines. Payment processor shuts you down. Can't take credit cards = business dead.

Vulnerable Code in Production

Login form accepts SQL injection. API has authentication bypass. Admin panel accessible without authorization. You don't know until it's exploited.

Result: Hackers gain admin access. Delete data, steal customer info, hold system for ransom. Recovery costs $100K+.

The Fix: Security Engineer reviews your architecture, finds vulnerabilities before hackers do, ensures compliance with regulations, and implements defense-in-depth security—all before you go live.

What Security Engineer Does

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Security Architecture Design

Design defense-in-depth security with multiple layers of protection. Implement zero-trust models, least privilege access, network segmentation. Plan for security before building, not after breaches.

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Authentication & Authorization

Implement secure authentication (JWT, OAuth2, MFA). Design role-based access control (RBAC). Prevent authentication bypasses, session hijacking, privilege escalation attacks.

Vulnerability Assessment

Review code for OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities: SQL injection, XSS, CSRF, broken authentication, security misconfiguration. Identify weaknesses before attackers exploit them.

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Security Code Reviews

Analyze code for security flaws: input validation gaps, improper error handling, hardcoded credentials, insecure crypto, race conditions. Provide specific remediation guidance.

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Threat Modeling

Use STRIDE methodology to identify threats: Spoofing, Tampering, Repudiation, Information Disclosure, Denial of Service, Elevation of Privilege. Prioritize by risk level.

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Compliance Audits

Ensure compliance with GDPR (data privacy), PCI DSS (payment security), HIPAA (healthcare data), SOC 2 (security controls). Document controls and remediate gaps.

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Data Encryption

Implement encryption at rest (database, files) and in transit (TLS/SSL). Use strong algorithms (AES-256). Manage keys securely. Protect sensitive customer data from unauthorized access.

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Secrets Management

Never hardcode credentials. Use secret management tools (AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault). Rotate credentials regularly. Prevent exposure in code repos or logs.

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Penetration Testing Guidance

Plan penetration testing scope and methodology. Guide ethical hacking exercises to find vulnerabilities. Validate that security controls actually work against real attacks.

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Incident Response Planning

Design incident response procedures: detection, containment, eradication, recovery. Define roles and communication plans. Prepare for breaches before they happen.

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API Security

Secure API endpoints with rate limiting, input validation, authentication. Prevent injection attacks, broken object-level authorization, excessive data exposure, mass assignment.

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Security Monitoring

Implement logging for security events (failed logins, privilege escalations, data access). Set up alerting for suspicious activity. Enable forensics for incident investigation.

How Security Engineer Works

From security audit to hardened system

assignment

1. Understand Context

Learn about your system: What data do you handle (customer info, payments, health records)? What are your compliance requirements (GDPR, PCI DSS, HIPAA)? What are the biggest threats (data breaches, insider threats, DDoS)?

Output: Security requirements document with compliance obligations and threat landscape

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2. Review Architecture

Analyze system architecture for security weaknesses: network topology, data flows, trust boundaries, authentication mechanisms, encryption. Identify attack surfaces and entry points.

Security focus: Defense-in-depth layers, zero-trust implementation, least privilege access

3. Conduct Vulnerability Assessment

Review code and configuration for OWASP Top 10: SQL injection, XSS, broken authentication, sensitive data exposure, XXE, broken access control, security misconfiguration, insecure deserialization, insufficient logging.

Findings categorized: Critical (fix immediately), High (fix within 7 days), Medium (fix within 30 days), Low (backlog)

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4. Perform Threat Modeling

Use STRIDE to identify threats systematically. For each component, ask: Can attackers spoof identity? Tamper with data? Repudiate actions? Disclose information? Deny service? Escalate privileges?

Deliverable: Threat model diagram with attack vectors and mitigation strategies

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5. Assess Compliance

Check compliance with relevant regulations. GDPR: consent, data minimization, right to deletion. PCI DSS: encryption, access control, secure transmission. HIPAA: patient data protection, audit logs.

Compliance gap analysis: What controls are missing? What documentation is needed?

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6. Recommend Remediations

Provide specific, actionable fixes for each vulnerability. Include code examples, configuration changes, and security best practices. Prioritize by risk level and business impact.

Remediation guidance: Immediate fixes, long-term improvements, compensating controls

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7. Validate Security Controls

Test that security controls actually work. Verify authentication can't be bypassed. Confirm encryption is properly configured. Test that rate limiting prevents brute force. Validate input sanitization blocks injections.

Validation methods: Manual testing, automated scanning, penetration testing

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8. Establish Ongoing Security

Set up continuous security monitoring, logging, alerting. Define security policies and procedures. Create incident response plan. Schedule regular security audits and penetration tests.

Security operations: Monitoring dashboards, alert rules, incident runbooks, audit schedule

When to Use Security Engineer

Pre-Launch Security Audit

Scenario: You're about to launch a new booking system that handles customer payments and personal information. Need to ensure it's secure before going live.

Security Engineer: Reviews authentication implementation, checks for SQL injection vulnerabilities, validates payment data encryption, ensures PCI DSS compliance, tests for XSS/CSRF attacks.

Result: 12 critical vulnerabilities found and fixed before launch. System passes PCI DSS audit. Zero data breaches.

Authentication System Implementation

Scenario: Building a customer portal with login functionality. Need secure authentication that prevents unauthorized access, session hijacking, credential stuffing.

Security Engineer: Designs JWT-based authentication with refresh tokens. Implements rate limiting to prevent brute force. Adds MFA for admin accounts. Reviews session management for vulnerabilities.

Result: Secure authentication system. Zero unauthorized access attempts succeed. Passes security audit.

GDPR/PCI Compliance Review

Scenario: You serve European customers and process credit cards. Need to ensure GDPR compliance (data privacy) and PCI DSS compliance (payment security) or face regulatory fines.

Security Engineer: Audits data collection for GDPR compliance (consent, minimization, deletion rights). Reviews payment processing for PCI DSS (encryption, access control, secure transmission). Documents compliance controls.

Result: Full compliance with GDPR and PCI DSS. Documented controls. Passed regulatory audit. Zero fines.

Security Code Review

Scenario: Developer just finished implementing a payment processing API. Before deploying to production, need expert security review to catch vulnerabilities that could lead to data breaches.

Security Engineer: Reviews code for input validation, SQL injection, authentication checks, authorization logic, error handling, logging. Finds hardcoded API keys, missing rate limiting, improper encryption.

Result: 8 security issues identified and fixed. Payment API deployed securely. Zero vulnerabilities exploited.

Real Results: Multi-Location Home Services Company

Security Assessment Findings

Company with 250,000 customer records, credit card processing, 8 locations. Requested pre-launch security audit for new customer portal.

Security Issue	Severity	Potential Impact
SQL injection in customer search	Critical	Database breach, 250K records exposed
Hardcoded admin password in code	Critical	Unauthorized admin access
Missing rate limiting on login	High	Brute force credential attacks
Customer data not encrypted at rest	High	GDPR violation, data breach exposure
Payment API missing authentication	Critical	Unauthorized payment processing
XSS vulnerability in contact form	High	Session hijacking, data theft
No logging for security events	Medium	Can't detect or investigate breaches
SSL certificate misconfigured	High	Man-in-the-middle attacks possible

After Security Engineer (30 Days)

Vulnerabilities Fixed:

All SQL queries parameterized to prevent injection
Hardcoded credentials removed, secrets stored in AWS Secrets Manager
Rate limiting added (5 failed login attempts = 15-minute lockout)
AES-256 encryption implemented for customer data at rest
JWT authentication added to all API endpoints
Input sanitization blocks XSS attacks
Security event logging implemented with Datadog monitoring
SSL/TLS properly configured with A+ rating from SSL Labs

Compliance Achieved:

GDPR compliant: Data encryption, consent management, deletion procedures
PCI DSS Level 1 compliant: Payment data never touches servers (tokenization)
Security audit documentation completed
Incident response plan created and tested

Security breaches since launch

Regulatory fines

100%

Compliance audit pass rate

Business Impact: Avoided potential $2M+ data breach costs (forensics, legal, fines, reputation damage). Launched confidently knowing customer data is protected. Passed PCI DSS audit on first try (saved $50K in remediation costs).

Technical Specifications

AI Model

Model

Claude Opus

Why Opus

Security architecture and vulnerability assessment require deep reasoning, comprehensive threat analysis, and expert-level security knowledge that only Opus provides.

Capabilities

Advanced pattern recognition for security vulnerabilities, architectural security design, compliance framework knowledge, threat modeling expertise, and remediation planning.