Most companies treat compliance like a chore. Teams write code, build features, then hand everything over to compliance officers who check boxes and fill out forms. This process takes weeks. It slows down releases. It frustrates developers.

There is a better way.

Contents

What is Compliance as Code?

Compliance as Code means writing your compliance requirements as code. Instead of manual checks, you create automated tests that verify your systems meet regulations. These tests run in your deployment pipeline alongside your unit tests and security scans.

Think of it like this: if you can write a test to check that your function returns the right value, you can write a test to check that your database encrypts data or that your API requires authentication.

Why This Matters

Manual compliance processes create problems:

  • Developers learn about compliance issues late in the process
  • Fixing compliance problems after deployment costs more time and money
  • Manual reviews introduce human error
  • Audit trails become hard to maintain
  • Teams waste time on repetitive checks

Automated compliance solves these problems. You catch issues early. You fix them fast. You create audit trails automatically.

Traditional vs Compliance as Code Traditional Approach Code Development Manual Compliance Review Deployment to Production Days/Weeks Delays Problems: • Late discovery of issues • Manual errors • Deployment delays Compliance as Code Approach Code Development Automated Compliance Tests Deployment to Production Minutes Fast Feedback Benefits: • Early issue detection • Consistent enforcement • Faster deployment Immediate Feedback CI/CD Pipeline Integration

How This Works in Practice

Capital One: Credit Card Security

Capital One processes millions of credit card transactions. They must follow PCI DSS regulations that require strict data protection.

Instead of manual security reviews, they wrote infrastructure code that automatically enforces PCI DSS rules:

resource "aws_security_group" "payment_system" {
  ingress {
    from_port   = 443
    to_port     = 443
    protocol    = "tcp"
    cidr_blocks = ["10.0.0.0/8"]
  }
}

This code ensures that systems handling credit card data only accept internal traffic on secure ports. If a developer tries to deploy something that violates PCI DSS rules, the deployment fails automatically.

Spotify: Privacy Protection

Spotify handles personal data from millions of users across different countries. They must comply with GDPR regulations in Europe.

They created automated scanners that check their code:

def check_gdpr_compliance(code_files):
    violations = []
    for file in code_files:
        if processes_personal_data(file):
            if not has_consent_mechanism(file):
                violations.append(f"GDPR violation in {file}")
    return violations

This scanner runs on every code commit. If developers write code that processes personal data without proper consent mechanisms, they get immediate feedback.

ING Bank: Financial Regulations

ING Bank must follow Basel III regulations for capital requirements. These rules determine how much money banks must hold in reserve.

They automated their risk calculations:

def validate_risk_weights(portfolio):
    for asset in portfolio:
        calculated_risk = calculate_risk_weight(asset)
        required_risk = get_basel_iii_requirement(asset.type)
        
        if calculated_risk != required_risk:
            raise ComplianceViolation(f"Risk calculation error for {asset.id}")

This code runs every night during risk calculations. If any calculation violates Basel III requirements, the system alerts the risk management team immediately.

How to Get Started

Step 1: Pick One Regulation

Start small. Choose one regulatory requirement that your team understands well. Don’t try to automate everything at once.

Good starting points:

  • Data encryption requirements
  • Access control policies
  • Audit logging rules
  • Network security configurations

Step 2: Write Tests

Turn your compliance requirement into a test. If your regulation says “encrypt all customer data,” write a test that checks for encryption.

Example:

def test_customer_data_encryption():
    database_config = get_database_config()
    assert database_config.encryption_enabled == True
    assert database_config.encryption_algorithm in APPROVED_ALGORITHMS

Step 3: Add to Your Pipeline

Run your compliance tests in your CI/CD pipeline. Treat compliance failures like any other test failure - block the deployment until someone fixes the issue.

Step 4: Create Feedback Loops

Make sure developers understand why compliance tests fail. Write clear error messages. Document how to fix common issues. Train your team on compliance requirements.

Step 5: Expand Gradually

Once your first compliance automation works well, add more regulations. Build a library of compliance tests that other teams can reuse.

Common Tools

Policy Engines: Open Policy Agent (OPA) lets you write compliance rules that run across different systems. HashiCorp Sentinel integrates with Terraform to check infrastructure compliance.

Security Scanners: Tools like Snyk and SonarQube scan your code for security and compliance issues. They integrate with most CI/CD platforms.

Infrastructure Testing: Chef InSpec and AWS Config Rules test your infrastructure against compliance standards.

Custom Scripts: Sometimes you need to write your own compliance checks. Most teams use Python or Go for custom compliance automation.

What to Watch Out For

Not Everything Can Be Automated: Some regulations require human judgment. Don’t try to automate everything. Focus on rules that you can express as clear pass/fail criteria.

Regulations Change: Keep your compliance tests up to date. Assign someone to monitor regulatory changes and update your automated checks.

False Positives: Overly strict compliance tests can block legitimate deployments. Start with basic checks and add complexity gradually.

Team Training: Developers need to understand compliance requirements. Automated tests help, but education matters too.

The Business Case

Compliance as Code delivers measurable benefits:

  • Faster deployments because compliance issues get caught early
  • Lower audit costs because you have automated evidence collection
  • Reduced compliance staff workload because routine checks run automatically
  • Better security because compliance controls run consistently
  • Happier developers because they get immediate feedback instead of delayed compliance reviews

Companies like Netflix, Airbnb, and government agencies use these techniques to handle complex regulations automatically. The investment in automation pays off through faster delivery and reduced compliance overhead.

Getting Leadership Buy-in

Present Compliance as Code as a way to reduce risk and increase speed. Show leadership how manual compliance processes slow down releases and create bottlenecks. Demonstrate how automation can deliver the same compliance outcomes with less manual work.

Start with a pilot project. Pick one regulation and one system. Automate the compliance checks and measure the results. Use those results to justify expanding the approach.

Conclusion

Compliance does not have to slow down software delivery. By treating compliance requirements as code, you can automate regulatory checks and build compliance into your development process.

Start small. Pick one regulation. Write tests. Add them to your pipeline. Measure the results. Then expand.

Your developers will write better code. Your compliance team will focus on higher-value work. Your customers will get features faster. Your auditors will have better evidence trails.

Compliance as Code transforms regulatory requirements from roadblocks into guardrails that help teams deliver secure, compliant software at speed.

Feel free to contact me for any suggestions and feedbacks. I would really appreciate those.

Thank you for reading!

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