analyzing-linux-audit-logs-for-intrusion
Uses the Linux Audit framework (auditd) with ausearch and aureport utilities to detect intrusion attempts, unauthorized access, privilege escalation, and suspicious system activity. Covers audit rule configuration, log querying, timeline reconstruction, and integration with SIEM platforms. Activates for requests involving auditd analysis, Linux audit log investigation, ausearch queries, aureport summaries, or host-based intrusion detection on Linux.
72
88%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
—
No eval scenarios have been run
Advisory
Suggest reviewing before use
Quality
Discovery
100%Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.
This is an excellent skill description that clearly defines its scope around the Linux Audit framework with specific tools and actions. It includes an explicit activation clause with natural trigger terms, and its specificity to auditd/ausearch/aureport makes it highly distinguishable from other security or Linux administration skills. The description is concise yet comprehensive, covering capabilities, use cases, and trigger conditions effectively.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | Lists multiple specific concrete actions: detect intrusion attempts, unauthorized access, privilege escalation, suspicious system activity, audit rule configuration, log querying, timeline reconstruction, and SIEM integration. Names specific tools (auditd, ausearch, aureport). | 3 / 3 |
Completeness | Clearly answers both 'what' (detect intrusions, configure audit rules, query logs, reconstruct timelines, integrate with SIEM) and 'when' with an explicit trigger clause: 'Activates for requests involving auditd analysis, Linux audit log investigation, ausearch queries, aureport summaries, or host-based intrusion detection on Linux.' | 3 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes strong natural keywords users would say: 'auditd', 'ausearch', 'aureport', 'Linux audit log', 'intrusion detection', 'privilege escalation', 'SIEM', 'unauthorized access'. These cover both tool-specific and task-oriented terms users would naturally use. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | Highly distinctive with a clear niche: Linux Audit framework specifically using auditd/ausearch/aureport. The combination of specific tools and the Linux host-based intrusion detection domain makes it very unlikely to conflict with other skills. | 3 / 3 |
Total | 12 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
77%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
This is a strong, highly actionable skill with a well-sequenced workflow and comprehensive executable examples for Linux audit log analysis. Its main weakness is length—the detailed audit rules and key concepts table inflate the token cost and could be offloaded to bundle files. The verification checklist is thorough and adds real value for validating the investigation process.
Suggestions
Move the detailed audit rules block (Step 2) into a separate bundle file like `intrusion-rules.rules` and reference it from SKILL.md to reduce token footprint.
Remove or significantly trim the Key Concepts table—Claude already knows what auditd, ausearch, and aureport are; at most keep the audit rule key concept which is domain-specific.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The skill is generally well-structured but includes some unnecessary content. The Key Concepts table explains terms like 'auditd', 'ausearch', and 'aureport' that Claude already knows. The Prerequisites section over-explains basics. The audit rules section is comprehensive but lengthy—could reference an external file. However, most commands earn their place. | 2 / 3 |
Actionability | Excellent actionability throughout. Every step includes concrete, copy-paste-ready bash commands. The audit rules are fully specified and deployable. The ausearch and aureport examples cover a wide range of real investigation scenarios with specific flags, keys, and time range syntax. | 3 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | The 6-step workflow is clearly sequenced from verification through rule deployment, searching, reporting, timeline reconstruction, and SIEM forwarding. Validation checkpoints are explicit (Step 1 checks status/backlog, the Verification checklist covers all critical states). The timeline reconstruction step includes a logical sub-sequence with feedback between queries. | 3 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | The content is well-organized with clear sections and headers, but it's monolithic—the extensive audit rules block (Step 2) and the Key Concepts table could be split into separate reference files. No bundle files exist to offload detailed content. For a skill of this length (~180+ lines of content), some progressive disclosure into supporting files would improve token efficiency. | 2 / 3 |
Total | 10 / 12 Passed |
Validation
90%Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.
Validation — 10 / 11 Passed
Validation for skill structure
| Criteria | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
frontmatter_unknown_keys | Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata | Warning |
Total | 10 / 11 Passed | |
- Repository
- mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills
- Commit
0f429d0
- Reviewed
Table of Contents
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