Checklist Reference: Shipping Compliance Evidence Continuously

Objective

Create a repeatable, verifiable, and continuously updated stream of compliance evidence — generated by systems, not spreadsheets — that supports ITGC, SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, or internal control frameworks without manual collection cycles.

The goal: turn compliance from a snapshot event into a continuous pipeline.

1. Foundational Principles

2. CI/CD Integration Controls

Embed controls directly into build and deployment pipelines so evidence is generated alongside every release.

✅ Pipeline Instrumentation

Embed compliance checkpoints in build and deploy pipelines. Example: Jenkins, GitHub Actions, or GitLab pipelines validate security scans, dependency checks, and code signing before promotion.

✅ Evidence Generation Hooks

Store pipeline run logs, artifact hashes, and approval records in a secure evidence repository (e.g., S3 with object lock, GCS with versioning). Tag pipeline output with a release identifier and environment target (build_id, git_commit, deploy_env).

✅ Controlled Promotion Flow

Require artifact promotion only from signed, validated pipeline runs. Enforce separation of duties between build, approval, and deployment steps to align with SoD controls.

✅ Pipeline Policy Enforcement

Use policy-as-code (OPA, Conftest, or Sentinel) to enforce controls such as:

• Mandatory code review before merge
• Dependency license compliance
• Required test coverage thresholds
• Security scan pass/fail gates

3. Policy-as-Code and Control Mapping

4. Artifact Repository Requirements

Centralize evidence in an append-only repository with clear taxonomy and retention policy.

Structure:

pgsql: /evidence/
    /builds/<build_id>/
        pipeline_summary.json
        artifact_hash.txt
        dependency_report.csv
    /infrastructure/
        terraform_state_snapshot.json
        policy_violations.log
    /access/
        iam_diff_YYYYMMDD.json
        approval_audit.log

Security Controls

• Object immutability (write-once, append-only).
• Access via least privilege (read-only for auditors, write via automation only).
• Retention aligned to control framework timelines (e.g., 12–18 months).
• Automated checksum validation and periodic integrity attestations.

5. Reproducible Builds and Deployment Evidence

✅ Source Integrity

Require all build inputs to be checksum-verified or signed, with SBOM source references documented. Maintain the SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) as a version-controlled artifact.

✅ Build Determinism

Document the reproducibility process to ensure identical inputs yield identical outputs (hash match). Use containerized or isolated build environments to reduce environmental drift.

✅ Artifact Signatures

Digitally sign each build and deployment package. Validate signatures before deployment and archive verification logs as compliance artifacts.

✅ Deployment Audit Chain

Record the target environment, approver, deployment hash, and timestamp for every release. Enforce multi-person approval for production rollouts to align with COBIT SoD and ISO 27001 A.12.1.2.

6. Continuous Control Validation

7. Auditor Interaction Model

When audit season arrives:

• Provide auditors read-only access to the evidence repository or evidence catalog API.
• Share the evidence metadata index (evidence_index.yaml) listing source, timestamp, and hash for each control domain.
• Demonstrate chain of custody from source system → pipeline → artifact → approval.
• Enable independent revalidation so auditors can run the same query or rebuild to reproduce outcomes.

This converts audit testing from a trust exercise into a verification exercise.

8. Key Metrics for Continuous Compliance Health

Summary Reference

Continuous compliance means:

• Pipelines generate the proof.
• Policy defines the rules.
• Evidence lives as code.

If an auditor can rebuild your environment and independently confirm every control assertion without opening a ticket — you’ve achieved the right level of maturity.