Sherlocked Security – Policy-Driven Gate Enforcement
Enforce Security, Compliance, and Quality Policies as Code in CI/CD Workflows
1. Statement of Work (SOW)
Service Name: Policy-Driven Gate Enforcement
Client Type: Regulated SaaS, FinTechs, DevSecOps-Enabled Teams
Service Model: Policy-as-Code (PaC) Definition + Enforcement Across SDLC Stages
Compliance Coverage: SOC 2, PCI-DSS, FedRAMP, ISO 27001, NIST SSDF
Assessment Types:
- Source Code & Artifact Policy Validation
- Pre-Commit/PR Gate Implementation
- Container/Image Signature & SBOM Enforcement
- OPA/Rego Policy Review and Custom Rule Design
- CI/CD Workflow Policy Gate Integration
2. Our Approach
[Requirement Gathering] → [Policy Definition] → [OPA/Rego Rule Development] → [Pipeline Integration] → [Failure Reporting] → [Continuous Enforcement Review]
3. Methodology
[Control Identification] → [Rego Rule Authoring] → [OPA Integration in CI/CD] → [Pipeline Hook Testing] → [Enforcement Threshold Definition] → [Monitoring and Alerting Setup]
4. Deliverables to the Client
- Defined Policy Catalog Aligned with Business & Compliance Goals
- OPA/Rego Rule Sets for Key CI/CD Stages
- Git Hook or Pipeline Script Templates
- Failing Example Workflows & Allow/Deny Test Cases
- Enforcement Dashboard Blueprint
- Remediation Examples for Developers
- Optional: GitOps Integration for Centralized Policy Management
5. What We Need from You (Client Requirements)
- CI/CD pipeline configuration (e.g., GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI)
- Organizational security and compliance policies
- Access to example repos, images, and SBOMs
- Critical and optional enforcement criteria
- NDA and scope sign-off
6. Tools & Technology Stack
- Policy Engines: Open Policy Agent (OPA), Conftest, Kyverno (for K8s), Gatekeeper
- Integration Points: Git pre-commit, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, ArgoCD
- Artifact Verifiers: Cosign, Sigstore, SLSA Verifier, SBOM Validators
- Supporting Tools: Rego Playground, VSCode OPA Plugin, OPA Bundles
7. Engagement Lifecycle
1. Kickoff & Policy Scoping → 2. Rule Development & Testing → 3. CI/CD Integration → 4. Failure Mode Testing → 5. Deployment & Monitoring → 6. Maintenance & Expansion
8. Why Sherlocked Security?
| Feature | Sherlocked Advantage |
|---|---|
| Custom Policy-as-Code Rules | Rego and Conftest policies tailored to your organization’s controls |
| Dev-Friendly Enforcement | Soft-fail and advisory modes to help teams adapt gradually |
| Multi-Stage CI/CD Coverage | Policies applied from code to artifact to deployment |
| Signed Artifact & SBOM Checks | Verified build integrity enforcement via Sigstore + SBOM matching |
| GitOps Ready | Centralized policy bundles, OPA Gatekeeper & GitOps enforcement |
9. Real-World Case Studies
Medical SaaS CI/CD Artifact Policy Enforcement
Issue: Unverified images pushed to production with critical CVEs and no SBOM.
Fix: OPA policies created for image signature validation, SBOM checks, and CVE max score limits; enforced in GitHub Actions and ArgoCD gates.
Regulated FinTech Rego-Driven PR Reviews
Issue: Developers pushed insecure IaC configs bypassing manual code review.
Fix: Pre-commit Rego policies enforced for Terraform misconfigs and secret exposure; results blocked PR merges with actionable feedback.
10. SOP – Standard Operating Procedure
- Define Required Policy Controls (compliance, security, integrity)
- Translate Controls into Rego Rules
- Build Test Cases (allow/deny scenarios)
- Integrate into CI/CD via CLI tools or native actions
- Configure Failure Modes (blocking, advisory, bypassed with justification)
- Monitor Policy Violations and Feedback Loop
- Maintain and Iterate on Rulesets Based on Dev and Risk Trends
11. Policy Enforcement Checklist
1. Source Code Policy Gates
- Enforce no hardcoded secrets (API keys, tokens, passwords)
- Block insecure coding patterns (e.g., SSRF, unsanitized inputs)
- Enforce license allowlists and third-party dependency checks
- Validate IaC files (Terraform, CFN, K8s YAMLs) for security issues
- Prevent code that violates organizational compliance guidelines
2. Image & Artifact Policy Gates
- Require SBOM inclusion with every build artifact
- Verify image signatures (Cosign, Sigstore) against trusted keys
- Block deployment of unsigned or mutable (
:latest) images - Enforce CVE severity thresholds (e.g., CVSS > 7 blocks pipeline)
- Check for known vulnerable libraries in container images
3. CI/CD Pipeline Policy Gates
- Prevent merging if security test coverage drops below threshold
- Require passing results from DAST/SAST scans for all builds
- Enforce RBAC on GitOps deployment tools (ArgoCD, Flux)
- Require signed commits or verified GitHub identities for approvers
- Block force pushes or deletions on protected branches
4. OPA/Rego Rule Practices
- Use parameterized and reusable rule modules
- Define clear input schema for each rule set
- Support dry-run or advisory modes for progressive rollout
- Integrate Rego unit testing (
opa test) for quality assurance - Package policies as OPA bundles for distribution and versioning
5. Enforcement Monitoring & Feedback
- Collect policy violation metrics and logs
- Alert developers on failures with actionable guidance
- Support developer override flows with justification and audit logging
- Use dashboards (e.g., Grafana, Prometheus) for policy trend visibility
- Schedule periodic reviews of rules with stakeholders
6. GitOps & Deployment Time Policies
- Use OPA Gatekeeper to enforce runtime policies on Kubernetes resources
- Define constraints for namespaces, labels, securityContext, etc.
- Enforce workload identity annotations and secrets usage restrictions
- Audit external image usage at deploy-time with allowlist policies
- Block privilege escalation or use of hostPath volumes