CI/CD security best practices for protecting software delivery pipelines in enterprise and regulated environments. This category covers CI/CD pipeline security, secrets management, artifact integrity, access control, and risk mitigation across the continuous integration and continuous delivery lifecycle.
Third-Party ICT Risk Controls for Regulated CI/CD Pipelines Why this checklist exists In regulated environments, suppliers are not “external.” They are part of your delivery system. When third-party services support your SDLC (Git hosting, CI/CD SaaS, artifact registries, cloud runtime, security scanners), auditors expect you to demonstrate: This checklist is designed to be used by … Read more
The Technical Control Engine Behind Regulated Software Delivery Introduction In regulated environments, compliance is not achieved through documentation alone.It is achieved through technical enforcement mechanisms. The CI/CD Enforcement Layer is the architectural component that ensures: Without an enforcement layer, CI/CD remains a delivery tool.With it, CI/CD becomes a regulated control system. 1. What Is the … Read more
Treating CI/CD as a Regulated Enforcement and Audit System Introduction In regulated environments, CI/CD pipelines are often misunderstood as developer productivity tools. In reality, they are control enforcement systems. When properly designed, a CI/CD pipeline becomes: This article presents a CI/CD-only architecture model, where the pipeline itself is treated as a regulated system responsible for … Read more
DORA Article 28 failures rarely come from missing policies. They come from hidden weaknesses in third-party–dependent CI/CD pipelines that surface only during audits or incidents. Auditors look for red flags — signals that third-party ICT risk is unmanaged, unenforced, or unsupported by evidence. CI/CD platforms are a frequent source of such findings because they combine … Read more
This checklist highlights common CI/CD-related red flags under DORA Article 28. Each item represents a situation frequently identified during audits as a third-party ICT risk failure. If one or more items apply, auditors may classify the CI/CD platform or supplier as high-risk or non-compliant. CI/CD Red Flags — DORA Article 28 (Third-Party Risk) Enterprise CI/CD … Read more
DORA Article 28 requires financial entities to manage risks introduced by ICT third-party service providers. In modern software delivery, CI/CD pipelines are among the most third-party–dependent systems in the organization. Git platforms, CI runners, plugins, and artifact registries are not just tooling choices — they are embedded external services that directly influence software integrity, availability, … Read more
Many organizations preparing for DORA Article 28 focus on collecting documents. Auditors, however, do not evaluate compliance based on document volume — they evaluate control effectiveness, consistency, and traceability. This article explains how auditors actually review an Article 28 evidence pack, what they expect to see behind each evidence category, and why CI/CD and third-party … Read more
Introduction DORA Article 28 requires financial entities to manage risks arising from ICT third-party service providers. In modern software delivery, these providers are not peripheral — they are embedded directly into CI/CD pipelines and cloud runtime environments. This article presents a practical architecture view of DORA Article 28, showing: The objective is not to describe … Read more
This mapping connects commonly used enterprise DevSecOps and CI/CD tools to the controls required under DORA Article 28, and the evidence auditors expect to review. The objective is to remove ambiguity between tooling, governance, and compliance. DORA Article 28 — Tools → Controls → Evidence Diagram mapping enterprise DevSecOps tooling to enforceable CI/CD controls and … Read more
This mapping links DORA Article 28 obligations to concrete technical and organizational controls, and the evidence auditors expect to verify. It is designed to eliminate ambiguity between regulatory text, implementation, and audit verification. 1. ICT Third-Party Identification Article 28 Requirement Financial entities shall identify and maintain an inventory of all ICT third-party service providers. Controls … Read more
