Secure-by-Design Requirements for AI-Generated Code
Asking an AI coding tool to “write secure code” is not a complete security strategy. The tool needs to know what the system is, which assets matter, where the boundaries are, and which controls the implementation must demonstrate.
Useful requirements might state that:
- external input is validated at a named API boundary
- authorization is required before a sensitive operation
- a web client cannot connect directly to a datastore
- secrets must use an approved mechanism
- tests must cover allowed and denied access paths
These are implementation requirements tied to architecture, not generic aspirations.
They are also testable. A useful requirement should make it possible to ask whether the generated output contains the expected boundary, control, implementation pattern or evidence.
iSecureByDesign users can model the system, configure policy controls, generate the requirements specification, and then supply the specification to an AI coding workflow. The Outputs stage can generate implementation content, while the Evaluation stage can compare generated or supplied outputs against the expected design.
Where a diagram environment is configured with steering-file specification blocks and an output prompt, the same requirements can also become project rules or repository instructions before code generation starts.
This does not remove the need for engineering judgement, code review or testing. It makes the expected result more explicit and gives those activities a stronger reference point.
See the Outputs stage and Evaluation stage help pages for the generation and assessment workflow.
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About Agentic Thoughts: This Agentic Thought was generated with AI. Agentic Thoughts are part of an ongoing process of evolving ideas about iSecureByDesign and how it may be applied to real-world problems. They are exploratory and do not necessarily represent a final product commitment, implementation, or formal advice.