diff --git a/.trivyignore.yaml b/.trivyignore.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..93b6b2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.trivyignore.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# Trivy misconfiguration exceptions — intentional, security-reviewed accepts.
+#
+# HIGH/CRITICAL findings are FIXED in-tree, never ignored:
+#   - DS-0029  : Dockerfile builder now uses `apt-get install --no-install-recommends`.
+#   - KSV-0014 : readOnlyRootFilesystem: true on the chart default + dev manifest.
+#   - KSV-0118 : explicit pod + container securityContext on the chart default + dev manifest.
+#
+# Only these MEDIUM, by-design findings are accepted, each scoped to its file with a rationale.
+misconfigurations:
+  - id: KSV-0013
+    paths:
+      - "go/authn/manifests/deploy.local.yaml"
+    statement: >-
+      Local-only dev manifest: authn:latest is built locally and run with imagePullPolicy: Never.
+      Not a shipped artifact — the Helm chart resolves a real, pinned image tag.
+  - id: KSV-0113
+    paths:
+      - "go/authn/manifests/deploy.local.yaml"
+    statement: >-
+      authn's core function is issuing and persisting kubeconfigs as Kubernetes Secrets, so its
+      ServiceAccount must manage namespace secrets. This is a required capability, not a misconfig.
+  - id: KSV-0111
+    paths:
+      - "go/authn/testdata/ldap-forumsys.yaml"
+    statement: >-
+      Test fixture exercising an admin-access user mapping. testdata only, never deployed.
diff --git a/go/authn/Dockerfile b/go/authn/Dockerfile
index 5efa768..804a58c 100644
--- a/go/authn/Dockerfile
+++ b/go/authn/Dockerfile
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ ARG DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive
 
 SHELL ["/bin/bash", "-o", "pipefail", "-c"]
 # hadolint ignore=DL3008
-RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y ca-certificates openssl git tzdata && \
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends ca-certificates openssl git tzdata && \
   update-ca-certificates && \
   rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
diff --git a/go/authn/manifests/deploy.local.yaml b/go/authn/manifests/deploy.local.yaml
index 18e7430..6161334 100644
--- a/go/authn/manifests/deploy.local.yaml
+++ b/go/authn/manifests/deploy.local.yaml
@@ -73,6 +73,15 @@ spec:
         app: authn
     spec:
       serviceAccountName: authn
+      # Mirror the chart's hardened defaults so local dev matches prod posture. The image is
+      # distroless/static:nonroot (UID/GID 65532); authn writes kubeconfigs as Secrets via the API.
+      securityContext:
+        runAsNonRoot: true
+        runAsUser: 65532
+        runAsGroup: 65532
+        fsGroup: 65532
+        seccompProfile:
+          type: RuntimeDefault
       volumes:
       # The RSA private key authn signs RS256 JWTs with. Create it first:
       #   openssl genrsa -out private.pem 2048
@@ -89,6 +98,15 @@ spec:
         #image: kind.local/authn:latest
         image: authn:latest
         imagePullPolicy: Never
+        securityContext:
+          allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
+          readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
+          runAsNonRoot: true
+          capabilities:
+            drop:
+              - ALL
+          seccompProfile:
+            type: RuntimeDefault
         args:
           - --debug=true
           - --kubeconfig-server-url=https://127.0.0.1:57456
diff --git a/helm/authn/values.yaml b/helm/authn/values.yaml
index f051e1f..45f0959 100644
--- a/helm/authn/values.yaml
+++ b/helm/authn/values.yaml
@@ -35,16 +35,27 @@ serviceAccount:
 podAnnotations: {}
 podLabels: {}
 
-podSecurityContext: {}
-  # fsGroup: 2000
-
-securityContext: {}
-  # capabilities:
-  #   drop:
-  #   - ALL
-  # readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
-  # runAsNonRoot: true
-  # runAsUser: 1000
+# Hardened by default. The shipped image is gcr.io/distroless/static:nonroot (USER nonroot,
+# UID/GID 65532); authn persists kubeconfigs as Kubernetes Secrets via the API (never the local
+# filesystem) and listens on an unprivileged port, so runAsNonRoot + readOnlyRootFilesystem are
+# safe. Override per-field if you run a custom image with a different user.
+podSecurityContext:
+  runAsNonRoot: true
+  runAsUser: 65532
+  runAsGroup: 65532
+  fsGroup: 65532
+  seccompProfile:
+    type: RuntimeDefault
+
+securityContext:
+  allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
+  readOnlyRootFilesystem: true
+  runAsNonRoot: true
+  capabilities:
+    drop:
+      - ALL
+  seccompProfile:
+    type: RuntimeDefault
 
 service:
   annotations: {}