{"slug": "the-secure-software-factory-an-open-reference-architecture", "title": "The Secure Software Factory: An Open Reference Architecture", "summary": "A group of engineers from Docker, Keycard, Barclays, Socket and Secure Theory published version 1 of \"The Secure Software Factory,\" an open reference architecture for AI-agent-driven software factories, on 13 October 2026, with the document open for comment. The architecture separates what an agent decides from what it may do — the agent proposes, policy authorizes, and infrastructure enforces — across four boundaries: sandbox, network, supply chain, and identity and access. It defines three levels of autonomy (Human-Orchestrated, Workflow-Orchestrated, Agent-Orchestrated) and maps controls to Agent Baseline, citing real failures such as an agent that deleted a production database in nine seconds.", "body_md": "# Reference architecture\n\nThe Secure Software Factory\n\n- Subject\n- The software factory\n- Version\n- 1 · 13 October 2026\n- Status\n- Open for comment\n\nA software factory uses AI agents to turn a prompt, ticket or specification into\ntested code, and increasingly to deploy and operate it. This architecture keeps what an\nagent decides apart from what it may do: the agent proposes, policy authorizes, and\ninfrastructure enforces.\n\n## Four boundaries\n\nAn agent needs room to reason and try things. Four boundaries enforce what it can\nactually do, from outside its own decisions, whether it cooperates or not.\n\n1. 1Sandbox where its code runs\n2. 2Network which systems and operations it can reach\n3. 3Supply chain which components and sources it can use\n4. 4Identity and access who the agent acts for and what it may do\n\nTake an incident agent allowed to read one service’s logs for the last hour. If it\ndecides it needs another service’s logs, the proxy blocks the request until a new\nauthorization decision grants them. Tests are a separate check: code can pass every one\nand still come from an agent that reached too far.\n\n## Three levels of autonomy\n\nThe three levels differ in who chooses the next step: a developer, a predefined\nworkflow, or an agent. The four boundaries stay the same. What grows is the share of\nsupervision the infrastructure takes over from people.\n\nSelect a level.\n\n### Level 1 Human-Orchestrated\n\nA developer chooses the next step and reviews what the agent produces.\n\n### Level 2 Workflow-Orchestrated\n\nA predefined workflow chooses the next step, and the factory becomes a shared service.\n\n### Level 3 Agent-Orchestrated\n\nAn agent chooses the next step, so its plans must not become its permissions.\n\n## Read the paper\n\nThe paper starts from real failures, like an agent that deleted a production\ndatabase in nine seconds, and names the control each one lacked. It then shows what to\nbuild at each level, mapped to Agent Baseline’s controls.\n\n[Read the paper (PDF)](https://agentbaseline.org/software-factory.pdf) ·\n[Source on GitHub](https://github.com/agentbaseline/agentbaseline/blob/main/software-factory/software-factory.md?plain=1) ·\n[Share feedback](https://github.com/agentbaseline/agentbaseline/issues/new?template=software-factory.yml)\n\n## Who wrote it\n\nDrafted by Eli Aleyner <sup>Docker</sup>, Ranti Familusi <sup>Docker</sup>, Allie Howe <sup>Keycard</sup>, Ian Livingstone <sup>Keycard</sup>, William Manning <sup>Docker</sup>, Andy McMahon <sup>Barclays</sup>, Ahmad Nassri <sup>Socket</sup>, and Aaron Stanley <sup>Secure Theory</sup>.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-secure-software-factory-an-open-reference-architecture", "canonical_source": "https://agentbaseline.org/reference-architecture", "published_at": "2026-10-15 19:43:02+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-15 19:57:57.793588+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-agents", "ai-safety", "ai-policy", "developer-tools"], "entities": ["Docker", "Keycard", "Barclays", "Socket", "Secure Theory", "Eli Aleyner", "Ranti Familusi", "Agent Baseline"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-secure-software-factory-an-open-reference-architecture", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-secure-software-factory-an-open-reference-architecture.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-secure-software-factory-an-open-reference-architecture.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/the-secure-software-factory-an-open-reference-architecture.jsonld"}}