Abstract: Examples of the present disclosure describe systems and methods for implementing a software-based security abstraction engine in a one-way transfer (OWT) system. In examples, data is received at a first device in the OWT system. A first set of policies is identified based on a dataflow identifier associated with the transfer of the data. A policy engine associated with the first set of policies applies the first set of policies to the data to create digital signatures. The digital signatures are evaluated by the security abstraction engine to determine whether the set of digital signatures is valid. If the digital signatures are determined to be valid, a provenance digital signature is created for the data and a second set of policies is applied to the data. The data is then transmitted to a second device or destination in the OWT system based on the dataflow identifier.