Implementing Supply Chain Security with in-toto

Overview

in-toto is a CNCF graduated project that ensures the integrity of software supply chains from initiation to end-user installation. It creates a verifiable record of the entire software development lifecycle by generating cryptographically signed attestations (called "link metadata") at each step, proving what happened, who performed it, and what artifacts were produced. For container environments, in-toto verifies that images deployed to Kubernetes followed approved build processes and have not been tampered with.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+ or Go runtime for in-toto client libraries
• GPG or Ed25519 keys for signing attestations
• Container build pipeline (Docker, Buildah, or Kaniko)
• Container registry (Docker Hub, ECR, GCR, or Harbor)
• Kubernetes cluster for deployment verification

Core Concepts

Supply Chain Layout

The layout is the central policy document that defines: