# AEGIS — Detailed Verification Strategy

- **Document ID:** ARCH-37
- **Phase:** E.2 — Verification Methodology
- **Status:** Draft for review (post four-reviewer discipline)
- **Version:** 0.1
- **Date:** 2026-07-10
- **Owner:** Chief Security Architect

---

## 1. Purpose

Expand ARCH-27 (Verification Strategy) into a per-subsystem, per-claim, per-instrument plan. Every claim in the ARCH-* corpus is bound to a specific verification instrument, an owner, a cadence, and an evidence-emission mechanism. Implements Phase-E mandate #35 (Verification First), #37 (Traceability), and Phase-E.2 mandates #7 (Assurance Evidence) and #8 (Verification Culture).

## 2. Structure

The strategy is expressed as a **Verification Matrix** — a signed, versioned structured document (`docs/verification/matrix.yaml`) where each row is one **claim** with fields:

```
- claim_id             : SEC-<domain>-<n>
  claim_statement      : short sentence
  arch_ref             : [ARCH-*, ADR-*]
  subsystem            : E-01..E-15 or standard-ref
  assurance_target     : L1..L5
  assurance_current    : L1..L5
  instruments          : [static, dynamic, runtime, external, formal]
  test_refs            : [test-ids, property-ids, drill-ids]
  metric_refs          : [ARCH-24 metric-ids]
  owner                : role
  cadence              : per-commit | per-release | weekly | monthly | annually | on-trigger
  evidence_sink        : audit-record class or dashboard
  status               : Planned | In-Progress | Achieved | Regressed
```

The matrix is machine-readable; consistency checks (ARCH-41) verify that every architectural claim has at least one instrument.

## 3. Per-Subsystem Verification Plan

For each subsystem in the microkernel (ARCH-07), a matrix subset:

- **Security Kernel.** Target L5. Instruments: property tests (capability attenuation, hash-chain monotonicity, revocation), Runtime Integrity Beacons, Watchdog quorum verification, TLA+ model of capability directory (post-v0), red-team engagements.
- **Cryptographic Identity.** Target L5. Property tests (signature verify, key rotation), fuzz tests on token parsers, integration tests with SPIFFE, PQC hybrid signature pilot.
- **Audit Chain.** Target L5. Property tests (monotonicity, chain gap detection), verifier CLI regression, transparency log continuity check, external audit annually.
- **AI Safety Layer.** Target L4. Canary evals per model, red-team on injection, hallucination-rate tracking, multi-model consensus tests.
- **Evidence Engine.** Target L4. Reproducibility drills, transformation-ledger dual-store checks, citation-resolution property tests.
- **Recovery Engine.** Target L4. Restore drills, Recovery Integrity Attestation, ransomware canary, backup KEK anomaly tests.
- **Plugin Engine.** Target L4. Sandbox escape tests, capability-over-use detection, kill-switch drills.
- (Full per-subsystem plan lives in `docs/verification/matrix.yaml`.)

## 4. Assurance Level Progression

Path from current to target expressed as a sequence of instrument additions per subsystem. Debt Register (ARCH-29) tracks progression debt.

## 5. Evidence Emission

Every instrument produces evidence in a structured, signed form:
- **Test result:** signed by CI runner identity.
- **Drill outcome:** signed by IC + Auditor.
- **Metric threshold pass:** timestamped in audit-side substrate.
- **External audit finding:** signed by auditor.

Evidence is durable and linked from the claim in the matrix — the basis for mandate #7 (never claim "verified" without evidence link).

## 6. Cadence Enforcement

- Per-commit and per-release instruments run in CI (blocking).
- Weekly / monthly / annual instruments have owners + calendared review.
- On-trigger instruments fire on incidents / vulnerabilities / arch changes (mandate #5 Living Threat Model).

## 7. Independent Architecture Review

- **F-1.** *Matrix could bloat.* Governance rule: adding a claim requires an ADR reference; unused claims retired.
- **F-2.** *Cadence enforcement decays.* Currency is a metric (ARCH-44); expired items alarm.
- **F-3.** *Formal methods risk.* Bounded to specific hot paths; ARCH-40 candidates.

## 8. Adversarial Architect Review

- **A-1.** *Attacker adds a false "Achieved" status.* Status changes are ADR-triggered; auditor visibility; matrix hash-chained.
- **A-2.** *Attacker disables an instrument silently.* CI enforces mandatory instruments; drift monitor + CI history.

## 9. Operational Reliability Review

- **O-1.** Matrix owned by PA; per-subsystem sections owned by SR + IO.
- **O-2.** Cadence dashboard integrates with ARCH-24 metrics.
- **O-3.** 15-year sustainability via schema stability + retirement discipline.

## 10. Self-Critique

- **S-1.** *"Structured YAML" is a maintenance burden.* Balanced against needing programmatic consistency checks.
- **S-2.** *Assurance-level self-assessment is subjective.* Anchored to specific instruments per level; external audit calibrates.

## 11. First-Target Analysis and Redesign

**Target:** the matrix itself. If someone marks unverified claims as "Achieved," everything downstream is false. **Response:** signature per row + Layer-A audit on status change + external auditor review of a random sample per release + red-team may probe claims marked "Achieved."

## 12. Decisions

### D-37-1. Verification Matrix as signed, machine-readable artifact

- **Reason.** Enables ARCH-41 consistency checks; enables ARCH-44 health metrics.

## 13. Change Log

- **0.1 (2026-07-10)** — Initial draft.