gh-christianlouis-dmarq/docs/SECURITY_AUDIT_SCHEDULE.md

Security Audit Schedule

This document outlines the security and code quality audit schedule for DMARQ.

Audit Frequency

Quarterly audits are conducted to ensure ongoing security and code quality:

• Q1 Audit: January - March (Target: Last week of March)
• Q2 Audit: April - June (Target: Last week of June)
• Q3 Audit: July - September (Target: Last week of September)
• Q4 Audit: October - December (Target: Last week of December)

Audit Scope

Each quarterly audit should cover:

1. Security Review

• XSS and injection vulnerability scanning
• Authentication and authorization checks
• Credential and secrets management review
• CSP (Content Security Policy) compliance
• Third-party dependency security audit
• Input validation and sanitization review

2. Code Quality

• Code style and formatting consistency
• Test coverage analysis (target: >80%)
• Documentation completeness
• Performance bottleneck identification
• Technical debt assessment

3. Infrastructure

• Database schema optimization
• API endpoint security
• Error handling and logging
• Rate limiting and DoS protection
• Backup and recovery procedures

4. Dependencies

• Update all dependencies to latest secure versions
• Review and remove unused dependencies
• Check for known vulnerabilities (using tools like safety, pip-audit)
• Update Python to latest stable patch version

Audit Process

Step 1: Preparation (1 week before)

1. Review previous audit findings and verify all items are addressed
2. Update all dependencies
3. Run automated security scans:

   # Python dependency security scan
   pip-audit
   safety check
   
   # Code security scan
   bandit -r backend/app/
   
   # Detect secrets
   detect-secrets scan
   

4. Check test suite status

   pytest backend/app/tests/ --cov
   

Step 2: Manual Review (Audit week)

1. Review all code changes since last audit
2. Test authentication and authorization flows
3. Manual XSS testing with common payloads
4. Review CSP headers and inline scripts/styles
5. Check error messages for information disclosure
6. Review logging for security events
7. Test file upload handling
8. Review API rate limiting

Step 3: Documentation (End of audit week)

1. Create audit report document (see template below)
2. Document all findings with severity levels
3. Create GitHub issues for each finding
4. Update security documentation as needed
5. Create remediation plan with priorities

Step 4: Follow-up (Next sprint)

1. Address CRITICAL findings immediately
2. Schedule HIGH priority fixes for current sprint
3. Backlog MEDIUM and LOW priority items
4. Track progress on all findings

Audit Report Template

Create a new file in /docs for each audit:

# Security Audit Report - [Quarter] [Year]

**Audit Date**: [Date]
**Auditor**: [Name/Team]
**DMARQ Version**: [Version]

## Executive Summary
[Brief overview of audit findings]

## Findings

### CRITICAL
- [ ] [Finding 1]
- [ ] [Finding 2]

### HIGH
- [ ] [Finding 1]
- [ ] [Finding 2]

### MEDIUM
- [ ] [Finding 1]

### LOW
- [ ] [Finding 1]

## Test Results
- Total Tests: X
- Passed: X
- Failed: X
- Coverage: X%

## Dependency Status
- Total Dependencies: X
- Outdated: X
- Vulnerable: X

## Recommendations
1. [Recommendation 1]
2. [Recommendation 2]

## Follow-up Actions
- [ ] Action 1 (Due: Date)
- [ ] Action 2 (Due: Date)

## Sign-off
**Approved by**: [Name]
**Date**: [Date]

Responsible Parties

Audit Lead

Primary: Project Maintainer (@christianlouis) Backup: Core Contributors

Review Team

• Security Lead: [To be assigned]
• Code Quality Lead: [To be assigned]
• DevOps Lead: [To be assigned]

Automation

Consider setting up automated reminders:

GitHub Actions (Future Enhancement)

# .github/workflows/quarterly-audit-reminder.yml
name: Quarterly Audit Reminder

on:
  schedule:
    # Last day of March, June, September, December at 9 AM UTC
    - cron: '0 9 31 3,6,9,12 *'

jobs:
  remind:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Create Audit Issue
        uses: actions/github-script@v6
        with:
          script: |
            github.rest.issues.create({
              owner: context.repo.owner,
              repo: context.repo.repo,
              title: 'Quarterly Security Audit - ' + new Date().toISOString().slice(0,7),
              body: 'Time for the quarterly security audit. See docs/SECURITY_AUDIT_SCHEDULE.md',
              labels: ['security', 'audit']
            })

Calendar Reminders

Add recurring events to project calendar:

• Q1 Audit: March 25
• Q2 Audit: June 25
• Q3 Audit: September 25
• Q4 Audit: December 20 (earlier due to holidays)

Tools and Resources

Recommended Tools

• Python Security: bandit, safety, pip-audit
• Secret Detection: detect-secrets, gitleaks
• Dependency Checking: pip-audit, dependabot
• SAST: semgrep, CodeQL
• Manual Testing: Burp Suite, OWASP ZAP

Resources

• OWASP Top 10
• OWASP Web Security Testing Guide
• CWE Top 25
• Python Security Best Practices

Audit History

Q1 2026 (February)

• Date: February 2026
• Report: PR#11
• Status: Completed with follow-up actions documented
• Key Findings: XSS vulnerabilities, CSP hardening needed, test suite issues

Q2 2026 (Scheduled)

• Target Date: June 25, 2026
• Status: Pending
• Focus Areas: Verify XSS fixes, CSP improvements, test suite health

Q3 2026 (Scheduled)

• Target Date: September 25, 2026
• Status: Pending

Q4 2026 (Scheduled)

• Target Date: December 20, 2026
• Status: Pending

Version History

Version	Date	Changes	Author
1.0	2026-02-09	Initial audit schedule	GitHub Copilot

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Next Review Date: 2026-06-25 Document Owner: @christianlouis