When an ISO 27001 audit asks for proof that every automated action taken by a tool‑using agent is traceable, approved, and protected, the evidence packet should be complete, searchable, and reliable.
In that ideal state the auditor receives logs that show who triggered each command, the exact request sent to the target system, any data that was masked, and a replayable recording of the session. The organization can demonstrate that agents never hold privileged secrets in cleartext and that any deviation from policy would have been blocked before reaching the infrastructure.
Achieving this picture is difficult because tool‑using agents are typically granted long‑lived service accounts, connect directly to databases or Kubernetes clusters, and operate without a human in the loop. The lack of a central enforcement point means that credential leakage, unauthorized queries, or accidental data exposure go unnoticed until after the fact.
A first step toward compliance is to replace shared secrets with identity‑aware tokens issued by an OIDC provider. With per‑agent identities and least‑privilege scopes, the organization can answer the ISO 27001 requirement for controlled access. However, identity alone does not record what the agent actually does once the connection is established.
Why ISO 27001 demands auditable agent activity
ISO 27001’s Annex A lists controls that directly apply to automated agents. Control A.9 requires documented access rights and evidence of their use. Control A.12 calls for monitoring of operational activities and protection against unauthorized changes. Control A.13 expects secure communication channels and logging of data in transit. Control A.14 and A.15 extend these expectations to the acquisition and management of services that agents consume. Without a point that can observe, mask, and record every request, an organization cannot prove that these controls are in place.
How hoop.dev satisfies ISO 27001 evidence requirements
The missing piece is a data‑path gateway that sits between the agent and the target system. hoop.dev fulfills that role by proxying every wire‑level request, applying policy checks, and generating audit artifacts.
In the setup phase, each agent authenticates to hoop.dev using its OIDC token. hoop.dev validates the token, extracts group membership, and maps the identity to a set of permissions that define which resources the agent may reach. Because the gateway holds the actual service credentials, the agent never sees them in cleartext.
All traffic flows through hoop.dev, which inspects the protocol, masks sensitive fields in responses, and can pause execution for a human approval step. The gateway records every command and response, producing a session log that can be replayed in a forensic investigation.
hoop.dev records each session, masks data inline, blocks disallowed commands, and routes risky operations to an approval workflow. Those outcomes exist only because the gateway intercepts the traffic; without hoop.dev the agent would communicate directly with the database and no evidence would be captured.
For ISO 27001, the auditor expects documented access control policies, logs of privileged operations, and proof that data protection controls are enforced. hoop.dev generates the required logs, provides masked audit trails, and supplies replayable recordings that satisfy the standard’s evidence criteria.
Deploy the gateway in a network segment that can reach the target resources. Register each database, Kubernetes cluster, or SSH host as a connection and let hoop.dev store the service credentials. Define policies that grant the minimum set of actions each agent needs, enable just‑in‑time approval for high‑risk commands, and turn on inline masking for columns that contain personal data.
Once the policies are in place, agents authenticate with their OIDC tokens, the gateway enforces the rules, and every interaction is recorded. The logs are stored centrally, searchable by user, resource, and time, and can be exported for audit reviews. Session recordings can be replayed to verify that no prohibited command was executed, satisfying the continuous monitoring requirement of ISO 27001.
For a quick start, see the getting‑started guide. Detailed policy configuration is covered in the learn section.
FAQ
What logs does hoop.dev produce for ISO 27001?
hoop.dev creates a per‑session audit record that includes the identity of the agent, the exact command issued, the response (with any masked fields), timestamps, and the outcome of any approval step. The record is stored centrally and can be queried by auditors.
Can hoop.dev enforce just‑in‑time approvals for automated agents?
Yes. When a policy marks a command as high‑risk, hoop.dev pauses the request, routes it to an approver, and only forwards it after explicit consent, ensuring that no privileged operation runs without oversight.
How does hoop.dev ensure that credentials are never exposed to the agent?
The gateway holds the service credentials internally. Agents authenticate only with their OIDC token; hoop.dev uses the stored secret to open the downstream connection, so the cleartext credential never leaves the gateway.
Explore the source code and contribute on GitHub.
