Automating AI Deployment Safety with GCP Binary Authorization

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

Understanding GCP Binary Authorization:

Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Binary Authorization is a security control that ensures only trusted container images are deployed on Kubernetes Engine clusters. It integrates with the CI/CD pipeline and provides a way to enforce policies on the type of images that can be deployed. Binary Authorization relies on two main concepts: attestors, which verify the integrity of the images, and policies, which govern which images can be deployed based on the attestations they have received.

In Pulumi, you can manage GCP Binary Authorization settings programmatically, automating the process of enforcing deployment policies for your containerized applications.

Here's how you'd set up a basic Binary Authorization Policy and Attestor using Pulumi:

1. Define a Binary Authorization Policy – This is the set of rules that determine which container images are allowed to be deployed. You can specify a default rule for all images, and you can also add specific rules for particular Kubernetes Engine clusters.

2. Create an Attestor – An attestor is responsible for verifying that a container image meets the policy requirements before it is deployed. An attestor can sign images with a cryptographic key to indicate that they have been verified.

Let's write a Pulumi program to create a Binary Authorization Policy along with an Attestor:

```python
import pulumi
import pulumi_gcp as gcp

# Create a GCP Binary Authorization Policy
binary_authorization_policy = gcp.binaryauthorization.Policy("binaryAuthorizationPolicy",
    description="A policy that ensures only authorized images are deployed",
    project=gcp.config.project,  # Assuming Pulumi GCP Config is set with project details
    default_admission_rule=gcp.binaryauthorization.PolicyDefaultAdmissionRuleArgs(
        evaluation_mode="REQUIRED",
        enforcement_mode="ENFORCED_BLOCK_AND_AUDIT_LOG",
        require_attestations_by=[],  # List of attestors that must attest an image before it's deployed
    ),
    global_policy_evaluation_mode="ENABLE",
)

# Define the GCP Note which represents the authority to attest to a container image
attestation_authority_note = gcp.containeranalysis.Note("attestationAuthorityNote",
    project=binary_authorization_policy.project,
    attestation=gcp.containeranalysis.NoteAttestationArgs(
        hint=gcp.containeranalysis.NoteAttestationHintArgs(
            human_readable_name="Attestation Authority"
        ),
    )
)

# Create a Binary Authorization Attestor
attestor = gcp.binaryauthorization.Attestor("attestor",
    project=binary_authorization_policy.project,
    attestation_authority_note=attestor.attestation_authority_note.note_id.apply(
        lambda note_id: f"projects/{binary_authorization_policy.project}/notes/{note_id}"
    ),
    description="Attestor that verifies container images",
)

pulumi.export("policy_id", binary_authorization_policy.id)
pulumi.export("attestor_name", attestor.name)
```

* We initialize a Binary Authorization Policy with default rules to block any deployments that haven't been attested by any attestors.
* We then define a Container Analysis Note, which in the real world represents a kind of statement about the state of a container image, generally about its security or compliance.
* Lastly, we create an Attestor which refers to the note created above and is responsible for verifying that the images have been attested.

This program should be seen as a starting point. To make this functional, you would need to:
- Set up a Container Analysis on GCP to create notes.
- Set up cryptographic keys for your attestors, so they can sign the container images.
- Integrate these resources into your CI/CD pipeline, such that images are attested as part of the build process and checked against this policy upon deployment.

Remember to replace `gcp.config.project` with your project ID if it's not already set in Pulumi's stack configuration.

To learn more about each component used in this script and their various properties, you can refer to the [Pulumi Documentation](https://www.pulumi.com/docs/reference/pkg/).

Running this program with Pulumi will create a GCP Binary Authorization Policy and an Attestor. You need to make sure that `gcloud` CLI is installed and configured for the correct project and that you have the appropriate permissions to create these resources.