The most expensive part of any compliance audit is not the assessment itself. It is gathering the evidence. According to a 2024 Coalfire study, organizations spend an average of 4,300 hours per year on audit evidence collection. For a team of five compliance analysts, that is more than two full-time equivalents dedicated entirely to taking screenshots, running reports, and organizing proof.
Two Paths to Evidence
TATER's Evidence Agent operates through two complementary collection paths. The browser path uses Chrome DevTools Protocol (via chromedp) to navigate Microsoft admin portals, capture configuration states, and document settings as screenshots and structured findings. The PowerShell path runs control scripts directly on endpoints, collecting registry values, service states, and policy configurations as machine-readable evidence.
The Agentic Loop
For the browser path, the Evidence Agent uses an agentic AI loop. At each step, the agent captures a screenshot, sends it to Claude for analysis, receives a structured action (navigate, click, scroll, or read), executes the action, and repeats. Up to 15 steps per control ensure thorough evidence collection. The agent waits up to 5 minutes for the user to complete initial authentication, then proceeds autonomously.
Every finding is posted as a Comment record with source: 'evidence-agent', creating a clear audit trail that distinguishes AI-collected evidence from human observations. Token usage is tracked per job for cost visibility.
"The best audit evidence is the evidence that was collected consistently, at the point of assessment, without human bias or fatigue affecting what was captured."
From Days to Minutes
Organizations using the Evidence Agent report reducing evidence collection time from days per audit cycle to minutes per control. The browser path handles cloud configuration evidence (Entra ID settings, Exchange Online policies, SharePoint sharing configurations), while the PowerShell path handles endpoint evidence (registry keys, service states, local security policies). Together, they cover the full scope of a typical CIS Benchmark or CISA SCuBA assessment.
How TATER Helps
TATER's Evidence Agent autonomously collects audit evidence through browser automation and PowerShell script execution. It captures screenshots, documents configurations, and creates auditable findings that map directly to your compliance controls. Reduce evidence collection effort by up to 80% while improving consistency and completeness.
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