Compliance Testing

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When validating regulatory compliance:
1. IDENTIFY applicable regulations (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, etc.)
2. MAP requirements to testable controls
3. TEST data rights (access, erasure, portability)
4. VERIFY encryption and access logging
5. GENERATE audit-ready reports with evidence

Quick Compliance Checklist:

• Data subject rights work (access, delete, export)
• PII is encrypted at rest and in transit
• Access to sensitive data is logged
• Consent is tracked with timestamps
• Payment card data not stored (only tokenized)

Critical Success Factors:

• Non-compliance = €20M or 4% revenue (GDPR)
• Audit trail everything
• Test continuously, not just before audits

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Quick Reference Card

When to Use

• Legal compliance requirements
• Before security audits
• Handling PII/PHI/PCI data
• Entering new markets (EU, CA, healthcare)

Major Regulations

Penalties

GDPR Compliance Testing

// Test data subject rights
test('user can request their data', async () => {
  const response = await api.post('/data-export', { userId });

  expect(response.status).toBe(200);
  expect(response.data.downloadUrl).toBeDefined();

  const data = await downloadFile(response.data.downloadUrl);
  expect(data).toHaveProperty('profile');
  expect(data).toHaveProperty('orders');
});

test('user can delete their account', async () => {
  await api.delete(`/users/${userId}`);

  // All personal data deleted
  expect(await db.users.findOne({ id: userId })).toBeNull();
  expect(await db.orders.find({ userId })).toHaveLength(0);

  // Audit log retained (legal requirement)
  expect(await db.auditLogs.find({ userId })).toBeDefined();
});

test('consent is tracked', async () => {
  await api.post('/consent', {
    userId, type: 'marketing', granted: true,
    timestamp: new Date(), ipAddress: '192.168.1.1'
  });

  const consent = await db.consents.findOne({ userId, type: 'marketing' });
  expect(consent.timestamp).toBeDefined();
  expect(consent.ipAddress).toBeDefined();
});

HIPAA Compliance Testing

// Test PHI security
test('PHI is encrypted at rest', async () => {
  const patient = await db.patients.create({
    ssn: '123-45-6789',
    medicalHistory: 'Diabetes'
  });

  const raw = await db.raw('SELECT * FROM patients WHERE id = ?', patient.id);
  expect(raw.ssn).not.toBe('123-45-6789'); // Should be encrypted
});

test('access to PHI is logged', async () => {
  await api.get('/patients/123', {
    headers: { 'User-Id': 'doctor456' }
  });

  const auditLog = await db.auditLogs.findOne({
    resourceType: 'patient',
    resourceId: '123',
    userId: 'doctor456'
  });

  expect(auditLog.action).toBe('read');
  expect(auditLog.timestamp).toBeDefined();
});

PCI-DSS Compliance Testing

// Test payment card handling
test('credit card numbers not stored', async () => {
  await api.post('/payment', {
    cardNumber: '4242424242424242',
    expiry: '12/25', cvv: '123'
  });

  const payment = await db.payments.findOne({ /* ... */ });
  expect(payment.cardNumber).toBeUndefined();
  expect(payment.last4).toBe('4242'); // Only last 4
  expect(payment.tokenId).toBeDefined(); // Token from gateway
});

test('CVV never stored', async () => {
  const payments = await db.raw('SELECT * FROM payments');
  const hasCVV = payments.some(p =>
    JSON.stringify(p).toLowerCase().includes('cvv')
  );
  expect(hasCVV).toBe(false);
});

Agent-Driven Compliance

// Comprehensive compliance validation
await Task("Compliance Validation", {
  regulations: ['GDPR', 'PCI-DSS'],
  scope: 'full-application',
  generateAuditReport: true
}, "qe-security-scanner");

// Returns:
// {
//   gdpr: { compliant: true, controls: 12, passed: 12 },
//   pciDss: { compliant: false, controls: 8, passed: 7 },
//   violations: [{ control: 'card-storage', severity: 'critical' }],
//   auditReport: 'compliance-audit-2025-12-02.pdf'
// }

Agent Coordination Hints

Memory Namespace

aqe/compliance-testing/
├── regulations/*        - Regulation requirements
├── controls/*           - Control test results
├── audit-reports/*      - Generated audit reports
└── violations/*         - Compliance violations

Fleet Coordination

const complianceFleet = await FleetManager.coordinate({
  strategy: 'compliance-validation',
  agents: [
    'qe-security-scanner',   // Scan for vulnerabilities
    'qe-test-executor',      // Execute compliance tests
    'qe-quality-gate'        // Block non-compliant releases
  ],
  topology: 'sequential'
});

Related Skills

• security-testing - Security vulnerabilities
• test-data-management - PII handling
• accessibility-testing - Legal requirements

Remember

Compliance is mandatory, not optional. Fines are severe: GDPR up to €20M or 4% of revenue, HIPAA up to $1.5M per violation. But beyond fines, non-compliance damages reputation and user trust.

Audit trail everything. Every access to sensitive data, every consent, every deletion must be logged with timestamps and user IDs.

With Agents: Agents validate compliance requirements continuously, detect violations early, and generate audit-ready reports. Catch compliance issues in development, not in audits.

Gotchas

• Agent checks GDPR consent flow but misses data retention — always verify deletion/anonymization actually works
• Compliance reports with "100% compliant" are suspicious — no real system is fully compliant, verify each claim
• Agent may test US regulations only — explicitly specify jurisdiction (EU, CA, etc.) for correct requirements
• PII in test data is itself a compliance violation — never use production PII, use synthetic generators
• Audit trail gaps are invisible until audit time — verify logging exists for EVERY data access, not just writes