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Cloud Build is a managed service on Google Cloud that automates the software build process. It helps organizations reach higher SLSA (Supply-chain Levels for Software Artifacts) levels by providing a secure and consistent build pipeline. With Cloud Build, teams can generate build provenance—verifiable metadata that describes how an artifact was created, including its source code location, the build toolchain used, and a digital signature to prevent tampering.
The SLSA framework defines progressively stricter requirements. SLSA Level 2 demands that the build service produce provenance that consumers can verify with a digital signature. SLSA Level 3 adds the requirement that the service record all user-controlled parameters and the exact entry point of the build, making the entire path from source to artifact transparent. This transparency makes it very difficult for an attacker to forge the provenance.
A critical practice for maintaining build integrity is using an ephemeral build environment—a temporary environment that Cloud Build provisions for a single build and then destroys. This prevents residual files from interfering with new builds, reduces the opportunity for attackers to inject malicious code into a persistent server, and ensures every build starts from a known, clean state. After each build, the environment is gone.
Securing the build service also follows the principle of least privilege. Dedicated service accounts should have only the minimum permissions needed to perform build tasks and interact with other Google Cloud services such as Artifact Registry. Administrators can use VPC Service Controls to create a security perimeter around the build process, preventing sensitive data from being exfiltrated. Finally, Binary Authorization can enforce policies that only allow deployment of images with valid, verified build provenance, ensuring only trusted software reaches production.
Artifact Registry is the central hub for managing all build artifacts and dependencies. It offers several repository types to support a secure supply chain:
Artifact Analysis works alongside Artifact Registry to provide automated vulnerability scanning for container images and language packages. When a team pushes an image to the registry, the service automatically compares the image against known vulnerability databases and reports any security flaws. This proactive scanning allows for immediate remediation. Additionally, teams can generate a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) to maintain a complete, verifiable inventory of every component used in their software.
To protect these artifacts, organizations must establish granular Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies that follow the principle of least privilege. Only authorized users and services should be able to read or modify artifacts. VPC Service Controls further protect the registry by creating a security perimeter that prevents data from moving outside the organization’s network. These layers of control maintain the integrity of the private repository and prevent unauthorized tampering.
Tracking build provenance is also essential here. Google Cloud supports the SLSA framework, which provides verifiable metadata about how each artifact was built. This provenance—including the build toolchain and source locations—creates a chain of trust from initial code to final deployment, making it easy to verify that the software has not been altered during the CI/CD process.
Binary Authorization is a Google Cloud service that ensures only trusted container images can be deployed to Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) or Cloud Run. It acts as a gatekeeper by enforcing deployment policies that require images to be verified before they can run. The verification process uses several key components:
Administrators configure Binary Authorization policies through the Google Cloud console, CLI, or APIs. These policies define default rules and cluster-specific rules that either allow, deny, or log deployment attempts. For example, a policy might require that every image in a production cluster must have an attestation from a security scanner. This automated enforcement reduces human error and ensures consistent security across the organization.
The verification loop depends on build provenance—the metadata generated by services like Cloud Build. Following the SLSA framework, organizations track the integrity of their software from code to deployment. Provenance includes source location, build toolchain, and digital signatures, making it much harder for attackers to inject unauthorized code.
To further secure the pipeline, organizations apply the principle of least privilege by granting minimal permissions to service accounts and using ephemeral build environments. Each build starts in a clean, temporary space that is destroyed immediately after use. This limits the attack window and prevents cross-build contamination. Combined, these practices create a robust defense against supply chain threats.
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