- Integration with Sentinel • Policy Gov • GRC
- 1 Purpose
- 2 Objectives
- 3 Architecture Overview
- 4 Integration Endpoints
- 5 Policy-to-Evidence Lifecycle
- 6 Audit Ledger Schema
- 7 Sentinel Integration
- 8 ServiceNow GRC Synchronization
- 9 Evidence Automation Techniques
- 10 Automated Audit Reporting
- 11 KPIs for Audit Automation
- 12 Security and Integrity
- 13 Benefits
- 14 Cultural Impact
- 15 Takeaway
Integration with Sentinel • Policy Gov • GRC #
1 Purpose #
Traditional audits look backward; EA 2.0 audits as it happens.
Compliance & Audit Automation gives the enterprise a real-time assurance layer, where every policy, control, and exception is continuously validated and logged — without waiting for quarterly reviews.
2 Objectives #
| Objective | Description |
|---|---|
| Continuous Compliance | Every system checked against policy baselines daily or on change. |
| Evidence Automation | Proof of control effectiveness captured automatically. |
| Cross-System Correlation | Sentinel, Policy Gov, and GRC share alerts, events, and context. |
| Audit-Ready Dashboards | Auditors view live evidence, not spreadsheets. |
3 Architecture Overview #
Azure Policy → Event Hub → EA 2.0 Ingest
│
└─► Azure Sentinel → Security Analytics
│
└─► ServiceNow GRC → Control Validation
│
└─► EA 2.0 Graph → Audit Ledger & Dashboards
Every event carries:policy_id, resource_id, timestamp, severity, action_taken, evidence_ref.
4 Integration Endpoints #
| System | Type | Connector Used | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Policy Gov | REST / Event Grid | Azure Monitor Diagnostic Settings | Push → EA 2.0 Event Hub |
| Azure Sentinel | Log Analytics API | Workbook + Playbook Webhook | Bi-directional |
| ServiceNow GRC | Table API + Webhooks | Outbound Gateway | Bi-directional |
| EA 2.0 Audit API | REST JSON | Native | Receives and normalizes all evidence |
5 Policy-to-Evidence Lifecycle #
- Detect – Azure Policy flags a non-compliant resource.
- Record – Event Hub sends payload → EA 2.0 Audit Ledger.
- Act – Logic App or Function enforces fix (see Native Azure Enforcement).
- Verify – Sentinel confirms threat resolved / Policy re-evaluates.
- Report – EA 2.0 dashboards update compliance metrics in real time.
6 Audit Ledger Schema #
| Field | Example Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
audit_id | AUD-2025-00123 | Unique record |
policy_ref | POL-Tagging-001 | Source policy definition |
control_id | CTRL-AZR-COST-TAG | Linked control in GRC |
resource_id | /sub/abc/rg/app01 | Affected asset |
action | auto-remediation applied | Result |
evidence_uri | https://blob/ledger/audit123.json | Immutable evidence pointer |
verified_by | sentinel-playbook | Who validated |
Audit Ledger resides in Cosmos DB with WORM (blob immutability enabled).
7 Sentinel Integration #
- EA 2.0 streams audit events to Sentinel via Log Analytics custom table.
- Sentinel correlates security alerts with governance events (“policy breach + threat detected”).
- Automated Playbook example:
If PolicyViolation and ThreatAlert on same resource
→ Tag incident as HighRisk
→ Notify Security Team
→ Create GRC Ticket via EA 2.0 Gateway
8 ServiceNow GRC Synchronization #
- Control records updated when EA 2.0 receives verified evidence.
- Control status:
Compliant / Non-Compliant / Pending Review. - SLA: updates within 15 minutes of policy change.
- GRC dashboards show evidence age and verification source for each control.
9 Evidence Automation Techniques #
| Evidence Type | Source | Storage | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Config Evidence | Azure Policy export | Blob + Graph | Real-time |
| Runtime Evidence | Sentinel alert logs | Log Analytics + Graph | Event-driven |
| Manual Verification | Steward input form | ServiceNow record | On demand |
| Control Metrics | DQ / Risk scores | Power BI Gov | Hourly |
All evidence is digitally signed and hashed (SHA-256) for tamper-proofing.
10 Automated Audit Reporting #
EA 2.0 Power BI Audit Dashboard includes:
- Open vs Closed Compliance Issues
- Time to Remediation (TTR)
- Evidence Completeness %
- Policy Effectiveness Trend
- Control Validation Coverage
Reports export to PDF/CSV and are archived automatically to Blob Storage for auditors.
11 KPIs for Audit Automation #
| KPI | Target | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence Auto-Capture Rate | ≥ 95 % | Manual intervention minimized |
| Verification Lag Time | ≤ 1 h | Real-time compliance |
| Audit Trail Completeness | 100 % | End-to-end traceability |
| Control Update Latency | ≤ 15 min | GRC synchronization speed |
| False Positive Rate | < 3 % | Policy accuracy |
12 Security and Integrity #
- All logs sent via private endpoints (HTTPS/TLS 1.2+).
- Audit Ledger in immutable Blob container (WORM 7 years).
- Access governed by Entra ID roles (Auditor, Owner, Automation).
- Sentinel Playbooks signed with Managed Identity.
13 Benefits #
✅ Continuous auditing without manual collection.
✅ Cross-visibility between security and governance.
✅ Instant proof of control effectiveness for regulators.
✅ Reduces audit prep time from weeks → hours.
14 Cultural Impact #
Audits shift from reactive to predictive.
Instead of “show me evidence,” auditors ask “what did we learn from the last breach?”
Compliance becomes a science of continuous observation.
15 Takeaway #
The strongest governance is visible governance.
EA 2.0 turns compliance from a yearly inspection into a 24×7 stream of trust signals — provable, traceable, and self-updating.
