engagement-lifecycle

name	engagement-lifecycle
description	Red team engagement lifecycle management — initiation, phase transitions, go/no-go gates, deconfliction, emergency procedures, completion.
allowed-tools	Read
metadata	{"subdomain":"orchestration","when_to_use":"start engagement, new engagement, engagement status, phase transition, go/no-go, deconfliction, emergency stop, engagement complete, wrap up","tags":"engagement, lifecycle, planning, phase-transition, deconfliction, emergency, completion","mitre_attack":[]}

Engagement Lifecycle Management

Engagement Initiation

Pre-Flight Checklist

Before starting any engagement, verify:

1. Documents exist and are valid:

   • roe.json — Rules of Engagement with scope, restrictions, contacts
   • conops.json — Concept of Operations with threat profile and kill chain phases
   • deconfliction.json — Deconfliction identifiers and procedures
   • opplan.json — Operational Plan with sequenced, acceptance-gated objectives
   • All documents cross-reference consistently

2. Infrastructure ready:

   • Docker sandbox running with required tools
   • C2 server reachable if post-exploitation is in scope: nc -z c2-sliver 31337 (gRPC port)
   • Operator config exists: /workspace/.sliver-configs/atlas.cfg
   • Output directories created (<engagement>/recon/, <engagement>/exploit/, etc.)

3. If any document is missing: Delegate to soundwave sub-agent first.

All paths below are relative to the engagement working directory (set via cd before commands run).

Engagement Types and Implications

Type	Starting Phase	Sub-Agents Used	Key Consideration
Full Scope	Planning → Recon	All (soundwave, recon, exploit, postexploit)	Longest duration, most OPSEC-sensitive
Assumed Breach	Exploitation	exploit, postexploit	Skip recon, start from provided foothold
Recon Only	Recon	recon only	No exploitation, intelligence gathering only
Objective-Based	Varies	Targeted subset	Focus on specific crown jewels

Read roe.json to determine engagement type and adjust phase ordering accordingly.

Phase Transitions

Gate Checks (Go/No-Go Decisions)

Before transitioning between phases, verify the gate criteria from the workflow skill:

Planning → Recon:    roe.json + conops.json + deconfliction.json + opplan.json exist and validated
Recon → Exploit:     Attack surface identified, targets prioritized, vulns catalogued
Exploit → PostExploit: Initial foothold established, access type documented
PostExploit → Report: All OPPLAN objectives resolved (passed or blocked)

Phase Transition Protocol

1. Read current phase objectives from opplan.json
2. Check: are all current-phase objectives resolved?
3. Check: does the next phase have pending objectives?
4. Verify gate criteria (consult workflow skill for phase-specific gates)
5. If gate passes → proceed. If not → identify what's missing and address it.

Handling Cross-Phase Dependencies

Some objectives may uncover new targets or invalidate assumptions:

• New targets discovered during recon → Update opplan.json with new objectives
• Exploit fails, need more recon → Return to recon phase for that specific target
• PostExploit reveals new network segments → May need additional recon/exploit cycles

Deconfliction

Blue Team Coordination

If roe.json specifies deconfliction contacts:

• Record all major actions with timestamps in timeline.jsonl only when a real event occurs
• If blue team detects and responds, note this as a data point (MTTD measurement)
• Never reveal TTPs to blue team during active engagement unless ROE requires it

Emergency Stop Procedure

If engagement must be halted:

1. Immediately stop all active sub-agent tasks
2. Document current state: which objectives in-progress, what's deployed
3. Record the halt in timeline.jsonl and update the affected OPPLAN objectives
4. Save opplan.json with current status for potential resumption

Engagement Metrics

Track these throughout the engagement for the final report:

Metric	Description	Source
MTTD	Mean Time to Detect (per objective)	Blue team detection timestamps
Dwell Time	Time from foothold to detection	timeline.jsonl timestamps
Objectives Completed	Passed / Total	opplan.json status counts
Attack Path Depth	Number of hops from initial access	lateral movement log
Credential Exposure	Unique credentials captured	post-exploit/creds/

Engagement Completion

Final Reporting Checklist

When all objectives are resolved:

1. Attack Path Documentation:

   • Every hop from initial recon to final objective
   • Credentials used at each step
   • Privilege levels achieved on each host

2. Findings Synthesis:

   • Read all <engagement>/findings/FIND-*.md entries
   • Group by severity: Critical, High, Medium, Low
   • Map each finding to MITRE ATT&CK technique

3. Remediation Recommendations:

   • For each successful attack path, suggest defensive controls
   • Prioritize by: quick wins vs. strategic improvements
   • Reference where in the kill chain the control would interrupt the attack

4. Evidence Preservation:

   • All scan outputs in <engagement>/recon/
   • All exploit artifacts in <engagement>/exploit/
   • All post-exploit evidence in <engagement>/post-exploit/
   • Credential inventory (encrypted)

5. Cleanup:

   • List all artifacts deployed on target systems
   • Document persistence mechanisms that need removal
   • Verify no active implants remain (if applicable)