What Is Software Provenance? A Complete Guide for Security Teams
Software provenance tracks the origin, history, and integrity of every component in your codebase. Learn why it matters for supply chain security and how to implement it.
Software provenance is the evidence trail behind your code
Software provenance records where code originated, who changed it, which dependencies it includes, and whether AI systems contributed to the final artifact. For security teams, that evidence turns vague supply-chain risk into an auditable record.
Why provenance matters now
AI-assisted development, open-source transitive dependencies, and faster release cycles make it harder to answer basic audit questions after the fact. ProvenanceOS keeps those answers attached to the code while teams are still building.
What teams should track first
Start with repository lineage, AI-origin confidence, dependency source, license status, and policy decisions in CI/CD. Those five signals cover the evidence most teams need for SOC 2, EU AI Act, and internal governance reviews.