Privacy Grading - KafkaLabs.

Overview

KafkaCode assigns a privacy grade from A+ to F based on the severity and number of issues found in your codebase. This grade provides an at-a-glance assessment of your code’s privacy posture.

Grading Scale

A+ / A / A-

ExcellentMinimal to no privacy issues. Production-ready code.

B+ / B / B-

GoodMinor issues present. Generally safe with small improvements needed.

C+ / C / C-

ModerateNotable privacy concerns. Should be addressed before production.

D

PoorMultiple high-severity issues. Not recommended for production.

F

FailingCritical vulnerabilities. Must fix before deployment.

How Grades Are Calculated

Step 1: Severity Points

Each issue type has a point value:

Severity	Points	Examples
Critical	100	AWS keys, private keys, database credentials
High	50	OAuth tokens, API keys, JWT secrets
Medium	10	Email addresses, phone numbers, SSNs
Low	1	IP addresses, URLs

Step 2: Total Score

Calculate the total score by summing all severity points:

totalScore = Σ(severity_points × issue_count)

Example:

1 Critical issue  = 1 × 100 = 100 points
2 High issues     = 2 × 50  = 100 points
3 Medium issues   = 3 × 10  = 30 points
5 Low issues      = 5 × 1   = 5 points
                            ─────────
Total Score                 = 235 points

Step 3: Grade Assignment

The grade is determined by the total score:

if (totalScore === 0)           return 'A+';
if (totalScore <= 5)            return 'A';
if (totalScore <= 10)           return 'A-';
if (totalScore <= 20)           return 'B+';
if (totalScore <= 30)           return 'B';
if (totalScore <= 50)           return 'B-';
if (totalScore <= 75)           return 'C+';
if (totalScore <= 100)          return 'C';
if (totalScore <= 150)          return 'C-';
if (totalScore <= 200)          return 'D';
return 'F';  // > 200

Grade Breakdown

🟢 A+ Grade (Perfect Score)

Score: 0 points Meaning: No privacy issues detected Example:

// All secrets from environment variables
const apiKey = process.env.API_KEY;
const dbUrl = process.env.DATABASE_URL;

// No hardcoded credentials
const auth = await getAuthFromVault();

Recommendation: Maintain current practices. Review periodically.

🟢 A Grade (Excellent)

Score: 1-5 points Typical Issues:

1-2 Low severity items (IP addresses, URLs)
0-1 Medium severity items

Example Report:

📊 SCAN SUMMARY
🔍 Total Issues: 2
🏆 Privacy Grade: 🟢 A

🔵 LOW (2)
  📄 config.js:5
     IP address found: "192.168.1.1"

Recommendation: Minimal cleanup needed. Safe for production.

🟢 A- Grade (Very Good)

Score: 6-10 points Typical Issues:

3-5 Low severity items
0-1 Medium severity items

Example Report:

📊 SCAN SUMMARY
🔍 Total Issues: 3
🏆 Privacy Grade: 🟢 A-

🟡 MEDIUM (1)
  📄 utils.js:12
     Email address: "[email protected]"

🔵 LOW (2)
  📄 config.js:5
     IP address: "192.168.1.1"

Recommendation: Address medium issues when convenient.

🔵 B+ Grade (Good)

Score: 11-20 points Typical Issues:

1-2 Medium severity items
Several Low severity items

Example Report:

📊 SCAN SUMMARY
🔍 Total Issues: 4
🏆 Privacy Grade: 🔵 B+

🟡 MEDIUM (2)
  📄 auth.js:8
     Email found: "[email protected]"
  📄 user.js:15
     Phone number: "+1-555-0123"

Recommendation: Review and fix medium severity issues.

🔵 B Grade (Acceptable)

Score: 21-30 points Typical Issues:

2-3 Medium severity items
Multiple Low severity items

Recommendation: Plan fixes for medium issues in next sprint.

🔵 B- Grade (Fair)

Score: 31-50 points Typical Issues:

3-5 Medium severity items, OR
1 High severity item

Example Report:

📊 SCAN SUMMARY
🔍 Total Issues: 5
🏆 Privacy Grade: 🔵 B-

🟠 HIGH (1)
  📄 config.js:10
     API key detected: "api_key_abc123..."

🟡 MEDIUM (4)
  📄 Multiple email/phone number leaks

Recommendation: Fix high severity issues before next release.

🟡 C+ Grade (Needs Improvement)

Score: 51-75 points Typical Issues:

1-2 High severity items
Multiple Medium severity items

Recommendation: Address before production deployment.

🟡 C Grade (Poor)

Score: 76-100 points Typical Issues:

1 Critical + some High/Medium items, OR
2 High severity items + multiple Medium items

Example Report:

📊 SCAN SUMMARY
🔍 Total Issues: 8
🏆 Privacy Grade: 🟡 C

🔴 CRITICAL (1)
  📄 db.js:5
     Database password in code

🟠 HIGH (1)
  📄 auth.js:12
     JWT secret hardcoded

🟡 MEDIUM (6)
  📄 Various PII leaks

Recommendation: Must fix critical/high issues. Not production-ready.

🟡 C- Grade (Concerning)

Score: 101-150 points Typical Issues:

1-2 Critical items, OR
2-3 High severity items

Recommendation: Immediate attention required. Block production deployment.

🟠 D Grade (Dangerous)

Score: 151-200 points Typical Issues:

Multiple Critical items
Many High severity items

Example Report:

📊 SCAN SUMMARY
🔍 Total Issues: 12
🏆 Privacy Grade: 🟠 D

🔴 CRITICAL (2)
  📄 config.js:8
     AWS Access Key: AKIA...
  📄 stripe.js:15
     Stripe Secret Key: sk_live_...

🟠 HIGH (3)
  📄 Multiple API keys and tokens

🟡 MEDIUM (7)
  📄 Extensive PII exposure

Recommendation: Emergency fix required. Do not deploy.

🔴 F Grade (Critical)

Score: > 200 points Typical Issues:

Many Critical items
Extensive High severity issues
Widespread privacy violations

Recommendation: Complete security audit and refactoring needed.

Grade Impact Examples

Example 1: Clean Project

Issues: None
Score: 0
Grade: 🟢 A+

Perfect! No privacy issues detected.

Example 2: Minor Issues

Issues: 3 Low (IP addresses)
Score: 3 × 1 = 3
Grade: 🟢 A

Excellent score with minimal cleanup needed.

Example 3: Some Concerns

Issues: 1 High + 2 Medium + 3 Low
Score: (1×50) + (2×10) + (3×1) = 73
Grade: 🟡 C+

Needs improvement before production.

Example 4: Critical Problems

Issues: 2 Critical + 1 High + 5 Medium
Score: (2×100) + (1×50) + (5×10) = 300
Grade: 🔴 F

Major privacy vulnerabilities. Immediate action required.

Improving Your Grade

Fix Critical Issues First

Address all Critical severity items immediately:

Remove hardcoded secrets
Move credentials to environment variables
Use secure vaults (AWS Secrets Manager, etc.)

Address High Severity Items

Fix High severity issues before next release:

Externalize API keys
Use configuration management
Implement secret rotation

Clean Up Medium/Low Items

Improve grade by addressing remaining issues:

Move PII to configuration
Remove unnecessary hardcoded data
Use DNS names instead of IP addresses

Rescan and Verify

Run KafkaCode again to verify improvements:

kafkacode scan ./src

Grade Thresholds Quick Reference

Grade	Score Range	Action Required
🟢 A+	0	None - Perfect!
🟢 A	1-5	Optional cleanup
🟢 A-	6-10	Minor improvements
🔵 B+	11-20	Review recommended
🔵 B	21-30	Plan fixes
🔵 B-	31-50	Fix before release
🟡 C+	51-75	Not production-ready
🟡 C	76-100	Must fix critical items
🟡 C-	101-150	Block deployment
🟠 D	151-200	Emergency fixes
🔴 F	> 200	Complete refactoring

CI/CD Integration

Use grades to gate deployments:

# Example: GitHub Actions
- name: Privacy Scan
  run: kafkacode scan ./src

- name: Check Grade
  run: |
    GRADE=$(kafkacode scan ./src | grep "Privacy Grade" | awk '{print $NF}')
    if [[ "$GRADE" == "D" || "$GRADE" == "F" ]]; then
      echo "Privacy grade too low: $GRADE"
      exit 1
    fi

Best Practices

Set Grade Goals

Development: Accept B- or better
Staging: Require B+ or better
Production: Mandate A- or better

Track Over Time

Run scans regularly (daily/weekly)
Monitor grade trends
Set improvement targets
Celebrate progress!

Use in PR Reviews

Scan before merging
Require grade maintenance
Block PRs that lower grade
Document fixes in commits

Security Policy

Define acceptable grades per environment
Escalate Critical/High findings
Regular security audits
Team training on privacy

Next Steps

Interpreting Results

Learn to understand scan reports

CI/CD Integration

Automate privacy scanning

Detection Methods

See what KafkaCode detects

Examples

Real-world scanning examples

Get Started

Core Concepts

Usage Guide

Advanced

​Overview

​Grading Scale

A+ / A / A-

B+ / B / B-

C+ / C / C-

D

F

​How Grades Are Calculated

​Step 1: Severity Points

​Step 2: Total Score

​Step 3: Grade Assignment

​Grade Breakdown

​🟢 A+ Grade (Perfect Score)

​🟢 A Grade (Excellent)

​🟢 A- Grade (Very Good)

​🔵 B+ Grade (Good)

​🔵 B Grade (Acceptable)

​🔵 B- Grade (Fair)

​🟡 C+ Grade (Needs Improvement)

​🟡 C Grade (Poor)

​🟡 C- Grade (Concerning)

​🟠 D Grade (Dangerous)

​🔴 F Grade (Critical)

​Grade Impact Examples

​Example 1: Clean Project

​Example 2: Minor Issues

​Example 3: Some Concerns

​Example 4: Critical Problems

​Improving Your Grade

​Grade Thresholds Quick Reference

​CI/CD Integration

​Best Practices

​Next Steps

Interpreting Results

CI/CD Integration

Detection Methods

Examples

Overview

Grading Scale

How Grades Are Calculated

Step 1: Severity Points

Step 2: Total Score

Step 3: Grade Assignment

Grade Breakdown

🟢 A+ Grade (Perfect Score)

🟢 A Grade (Excellent)

🟢 A- Grade (Very Good)

🔵 B+ Grade (Good)

🔵 B Grade (Acceptable)

🔵 B- Grade (Fair)

🟡 C+ Grade (Needs Improvement)

🟡 C Grade (Poor)

🟡 C- Grade (Concerning)

🟠 D Grade (Dangerous)

🔴 F Grade (Critical)

Grade Impact Examples

Example 1: Clean Project

Example 2: Minor Issues

Example 3: Some Concerns

Example 4: Critical Problems

Improving Your Grade

Grade Thresholds Quick Reference

CI/CD Integration

Best Practices

Next Steps