Configure Binary Authorization Attestation Enforcement

What Binary Authorization Attestation Enforcement Is

Binary Authorization is a Google Cloud deploy-time security service that ensures only trusted container images are deployed across platforms such as Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and Cloud Run. It uses a policy model where deployment admission is gated by verifiable cryptographic signatures called attestations.

How it meets the requirements

• Cryptographic Signature Verification: Setting evaluationMode to REQUIRE_ATTESTATION ensures that the admission controller requires digital signatures created by trusted signers before allowing execution.
• Blocking Unauthorized Deployments and Logging: Setting enforcementMode to ENFORCED_BLOCK_AND_AUDIT_LOG blocks any container deployment attempt that fails attestation verification and writes an audit event directly to Cloud Audit Logs.
• Public Key Infrastructure & Attestors: An attestor resource anchors the trusted authority by storing the cryptographic public key (PKIX or PGP) that validates the digital signature stored in the associated Artifact Analysis note.

Key advantages and capabilities

• Decoupled Architecture: Separates the role of signers (CI/CD build pipelines, vulnerability scanners) from attestor management (security teams).
• Centralized Enforcement: Provides a consistent policy engine across multiple container platforms including GKE clusters and Cloud Run services.
• Multi-Attestor Chaining: Supports demanding multiple attestations (e.g., build verification AND security scan clearance) prior to production deployment.
• Tamper Evidence: Attestations reference the immutable image digest rather than mutable container tags.

Why this is optimal

This approach directly satisfies the enterprise requirement for automated signature verification prior to container execution while leveraging native Google Cloud deploy-time enforcement and centralized logging without altering workload code.