What is OPA?

An open source, general purpose policy engine. A graduated project in CNCF (Cloud Native Computing Foundation). 

Uses a high-level language that lets users specify a policy as code and simple APIs for policy decision making.

Written in Go. Or Rego, which is OPAs policy language. https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/open-policy-agent/opa/rego

Experimentation:

Approach 1: OPA with Java Sidecar

Proposal: Java Sidecar Integration with Open Policy Agent (OPA)

The goal of this proposal is to develop a Java sidecar component that seamlessly integrates with Open Policy Agent (OPA) to enhance policy-based control and decision-making in distributed systems. This integration will enable applications to enforce dynamic and fine-grained policies, improving security, compliance, and overall system reliability.

The proposed Java sidecar will be designed to:

- Establish a secure and efficient communication channel with OPA using HTTP REST APIs or other appropriate protocols.

- Implement logic for sending policy queries to OPA and receiving policy decisions.

- Provide a simple and intuitive interface for Java applications to define and enforce policies.

- Facilitate the translation of Java application context into OPA-compatible data for policy evaluation.

- Implement mechanisms to dynamically update policies from OPA.

- Integrate with popular logging and monitoring tools to capture and analyse policy events.

- Provide metrics and instrumentation for tracking the performance and health of the integration.

- Implement secure communication practices to protect the confidentiality and integrity of data exchanged with OPA.

- Adhere to best practices for handling sensitive information, such as API tokens or credentials.

The proposed Java sidecar will be developed using standard Java libraries and frameworks, with consideration for ease of use and minimal impact on existing applications. It will be designed to support Java applications running in various environments, including cloud-native architectures.

Approach 2: PDP with OPA lib

Proposal: Go Application with OPA Rego Library for Policy Enforcement

The aim of this proposal is to develop a Go application that leverages the Open Policy Agent (OPA) Rego library for efficient and flexible policy enforcement within the Policy Framework.

The proposed Go application will be designed to:

- Utilize the OPA Rego library to integrate OPA seamlessly into the Go application.

- Establish a secure and efficient communication channel with OPA.

- Develop a simple and intuitive mechanism for defining policies using Rego within the Go application.

- Facilitate the dynamic loading of policies to allow for real-time updates.

- Implement logic for evaluating policies using the OPA Rego engine.

- Provide a clear and detailed reporting mechanism for policy violations.

- Design interfaces and APIs that enable easy integration with existing Go applications.

- Ensure minimal impact on application performance.

- Implement logging and monitoring mechanisms to capture policy enforcement events.

- Provide metrics and instrumentation for tracking the performance and health of policy evaluations.

The proposed Go application will be developed using standard Go libraries, with a focus on simplicity, modularity, and compatibility with various deployment environments, including containerized and cloud-native architectures.

This proposal outlines a plan for creating a Go application that utilizes the OPA Rego library for efficient and flexible policy enforcement. The successful implementation of this project will empower us to enforce policies declaratively within our Go applications, contributing to improved security, compliance, and operational control.