When you’re nearing bringing a new update to production, you may rather not want to realize that everyone and anyone has complete open access to sensitive data, just before you’re about to deliver the update. Misconfiguring or properly not configuring an authorization policy could lead to a scenario just like that. Things move fast in the CI/CD environment, with code changes and constant deployments, so it’s not hard to see how a security mistake can slip under the radar. But when it does, you can expect security breaches, regulatory violations, and huge losses, are swiftly follow. And you definitely want to prevent those.

Because of that, you should test authorization policies. This isn’t a handy-to-have part of the process, or an ‘extra’ feature; but a must. You wouldn’t ship code without testing for bugs, right? Then how can you deploy without ensuring your access controls function as they should?

There’s just one problem here, though. Traditional security testing doesn’t fit the speed of continuous integration (CI) or continuous deployment/Continuous Delivery (CD) pipelines. Manual reviews are way too slow, and if you check policies when the process is already too far ahead, deployments will come to a halt.

The solution? Automated policy testing. Keep reading to find out more about it.

Best Practices

Don’t mistake this for just running a few security checks. The main point is to make sure that only the right people have access to the right resources at the right time. If the policy is too broad, then you get unauthorized users. If it’s too restrictive, workflows get disrupted and you block legitimate access.

Here’s how to find the right balance.

1. Define Clear and Granular Policies

The first order of business is to have a clear and unambiguous policy. If the policy can be interpreted from multiple angles, it’s not good. If there are loopholes in a policy, it poses a security risk. A good policy defines who can access what under which conditions with which permission.

For security reasons, it’s best practice to break down permissions into roles and assign those roles to team members so that instead of everyone having access to everything, each member has access to data that is relevant to their job.

2. Use Policy-as-Code for Automation

Authorization policies are pretty much like any other piece of code – version-controlled, tested, and reviewed. When they’re stored in a Git repository, it’s easy to track changes, roll back to past versions, and have people across different teams work together. Here’s when policy-as-code comes in.

With languages like Rego (for Open Policy Agent) or other policy frameworks, you can make policy validation automated, there’s no need for teams to manually check each rule. In CI/CD, automated policy testing is what makes sure that every change in authorization rule gets verified before it’s deployed, which means less chance of a misconfiguration slipping through.

3. Implement Unit and Integration Tests for Policies

You already know that a software code needs thorough testing before going live. It’s the same deal with authorization policies. With unit tests, each policy rule is validated and checked that it behaves as expected. Let’s say a policy is supposed to deny access to users who aren’t authorized.

A unit test is what confirms that it will actually do it. Unit tests alone aren’t enough, however. You also need integration tests to check how policies will work in real-world situations and that they interact correctly with user roles, permissions, and external services.

4. Do Negative Testing to Spot Weak Policies

If you’re only checking for allowed actions, you’re making one of the biggest mistakes in authorization testing. Testing what shouldn’t be allowed is just as important (if not more). What negative testing does is, it simulates unauthorized access attempts to see if a policy will block them. If anyone with the wrong permissions tries to access or change sensitive data, the policy should reject the request outright. Without negative testing, you risk unexpected actions being allowed and unnoticed. That is, of course, until you have a security incident on your hands.

5. Continuously Monitor and Audit Authorization Policies

It’s extremely risky to just assume that a policy that was tested once will keep working all the time. CI/CD environments are changing all the time with new code, new user roles, and security requirements that keep evolving. If you don’t keep an eye on policies, security gaps can just slip by.

This is why you need to log every authorization decision – it keeps track of who accessed what, when, and why, so spotting mistakes is easier. Tools like OPA Decision Logs will keep a record of policy decisions, and the security team can always quickly review them.

6. Do Regular Security Reviews and Policy Updates

Something that’s working perfectly today might not be secure tomorrow. Software changes, and so do security threats, so it only makes sense that authorization policies follow. This means that you need to regularly review and update policies.

Security teams need to check for unnecessary permissions, gaps, or misconfigurations regularly. These reviews will also make sure that OPA authorization stays compliant with security regulations.

Conclusion

Where do you think a security failure comes from? Many things, of course, but you’ll usually notice that most come from small stuff you overlooked because it was, well… Small. But if you don’t properly test an authorization policy, you’re putting systems and data at risk.

At the end of the day, authorization testing isn’t just about compliance; it’s about trust.