diff --git a/scripts/apply-repo-settings.sh b/scripts/apply-repo-settings.sh
index 09dbdb6..3a5fc84 100644
--- a/scripts/apply-repo-settings.sh
+++ b/scripts/apply-repo-settings.sh
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 #
 # Companion script to compliance-audit.sh. Applies the settings defined in:
 #   standards/github-settings.md#repository-settings--standard-defaults
+#   standards/push-protection.md#required-repo-level-settings
 #
 # Usage:
 #   # Apply to a specific repo:
@@ -82,11 +83,12 @@ apply_labels() {
 
 apply_settings() {
   local repo="$1"
+  local repo_json="$2"
   info "Applying standard settings to $ORG/$repo ..."
 
-  # Fetch current settings
+  # Extract current settings from the pre-fetched repo JSON
   local current
-  current=$(gh api "repos/$ORG/$repo" --jq '{
+  current=$(echo "$repo_json" | jq '{
     allow_auto_merge: .allow_auto_merge,
     delete_branch_on_merge: .delete_branch_on_merge,
     allow_squash_merge: .allow_squash_merge,
@@ -98,8 +100,8 @@ apply_settings() {
     squash_merge_commit_message: .squash_merge_commit_message
   }' 2>/dev/null || echo "{}")
 
-  if [ "$current" = "{}" ]; then
-    err "Could not fetch settings for $ORG/$repo — check token permissions and repo name"
+  if [ "$current" = "{}" ] || [ "$current" = "null" ]; then
+    err "Could not parse settings for $ORG/$repo"
     return 1
   fi
 
@@ -249,7 +251,15 @@ if [ "$1" = "--all" ]; then
 
   failed=0
   for repo in $repos; do
-    apply_settings "$repo" || failed=$((failed + 1))
+    # Fetch full repo JSON once and share across functions
+    repo_json=$(gh api "repos/$ORG/$repo" 2>/dev/null || echo "{}")
+    if [ "$repo_json" = "{}" ]; then
+      err "Could not fetch settings for $ORG/$repo — check token permissions and repo name"
+      failed=$((failed + 1))
+      continue
+    fi
+
+    apply_settings "$repo" "$repo_json" || failed=$((failed + 1))
     apply_labels "$repo"
     pp_apply_security_and_analysis "$repo" || failed=$((failed + 1))
     apply_codeql_default_setup "$repo" || failed=$((failed + 1))
@@ -262,7 +272,13 @@ if [ "$1" = "--all" ]; then
 
   ok "All repos processed successfully"
 else
-  apply_settings "$1"
+  repo_json=$(gh api "repos/$ORG/$1" 2>/dev/null || echo "{}")
+  if [ "$repo_json" = "{}" ]; then
+    err "Could not fetch settings for $ORG/$1 — check token permissions and repo name"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+
+  apply_settings "$1" "$repo_json"
   apply_labels "$1"
   pp_apply_security_and_analysis "$1"
   apply_codeql_default_setup "$1"
diff --git a/scripts/apply-rulesets.sh b/scripts/apply-rulesets.sh
index 3a95921..fda7c91 100755
--- a/scripts/apply-rulesets.sh
+++ b/scripts/apply-rulesets.sh
@@ -135,11 +135,14 @@ detect_required_checks() {
   if echo "$workflows" | grep -qx "ci.yml"; then
     local ci_wf_name
     ci_wf_name=$(workflow_name "ci.yml")
+    # Fetch ci.yml content once; used for first-job detection and secret-scan check below
+    local ci_content ci_decoded
+    ci_content=$(gh api "repos/$ORG/$repo/contents/.github/workflows/ci.yml" \
+      --jq '.content' 2>/dev/null || echo "")
+    ci_decoded=$(echo "$ci_content" | base64 -d 2>/dev/null || echo "")
     # Fetch the first job name from ci.yml
     local ci_job_name
-    ci_job_name=$(gh api "repos/$ORG/$repo/contents/.github/workflows/ci.yml" \
-      --jq '.content' 2>/dev/null \
-      | base64 -d 2>/dev/null \
+    ci_job_name=$(echo "$ci_decoded" \
       | awk '
           /^jobs:/ { in_jobs=1; found=0; next }
           in_jobs && /^  [a-zA-Z0-9_-]+:/ && !found {
@@ -158,6 +161,11 @@ detect_required_checks() {
     else
       checks+=("$ci_job_name")
     fi
+
+    # --- Secret scan (gitleaks) — included when ci.yml contains the gitleaks action ---
+    if echo "$ci_decoded" | grep -qE 'uses:[[:space:]]*(gitleaks/gitleaks-action|zricethezav/gitleaks-action)@'; then
+      checks+=("Secret scan (gitleaks)")
+    fi
   fi
 
   # Output as newline-separated list (guard against empty array with set -u)
diff --git a/scripts/compliance-audit.sh b/scripts/compliance-audit.sh
index 418d9b8..b95f187 100755
--- a/scripts/compliance-audit.sh
+++ b/scripts/compliance-audit.sh
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 #   standards/ci-standards.md
 #   standards/dependabot-policy.md
 #   standards/github-settings.md
+#   standards/push-protection.md
 #
 # Outputs:
 #   $REPORT_DIR/findings.json   — machine-readable findings
@@ -283,9 +284,10 @@ check_dependabot_config() {
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 check_repo_settings() {
   local repo="$1"
+  local repo_json="$2"
 
   local settings
-  settings=$(gh_api "repos/$ORG/$repo" --jq '{
+  settings=$(echo "$repo_json" | jq '{
     allow_auto_merge: .allow_auto_merge,
     delete_branch_on_merge: .delete_branch_on_merge,
     has_wiki: .has_wiki,
@@ -968,6 +970,7 @@ create_umbrella_issue() {
   # Each group: category_keys|display_name|remediation_script
   local groups=(
     "settings|Repository Settings|apply-repo-settings.sh"
+    "push-protection|Push Protection & Secret Scanning|apply-repo-settings.sh (security_and_analysis) + per-repo ci.yml and .gitignore"
     "labels|Labels|apply_labels() in apply-repo-settings.sh"
     "rulesets|Repository Rulesets|apply-rulesets.sh"
     "ci-workflows|Workflows|per-repo workflow additions"
@@ -1156,7 +1159,7 @@ HEREDOC
 
 HEREDOC
 
-  for category in ci-workflows action-pinning dependabot settings labels rulesets standards; do
+  for category in ci-workflows action-pinning dependabot settings push-protection labels rulesets standards; do
     local cat_count
     cat_count=$(jq --arg cat "$category" '[.[] | select(.category == $cat)] | length' "$FINDINGS_FILE")
     if [ "$cat_count" -gt 0 ]; then
@@ -1218,10 +1221,21 @@ main() {
       info "Detected ecosystems: ${ECOSYSTEMS[*]}"
     fi
 
+    # Fetch full repo JSON once and share with settings/push-protection checks
+    local repo_json
+    repo_json=$(gh_api "repos/$ORG/$repo" 2>/dev/null || echo "{}")
+    if [ "$repo_json" = "{}" ]; then
+      add_finding "$repo" "settings" "repo_metadata_unavailable" "error" \
+        "Could not fetch repository metadata; settings and push-protection checks were skipped" \
+        "standards/github-settings.md#repository-settings--standard-defaults"
+      log_end
+      continue
+    fi
+
     check_required_workflows "$repo"
     check_action_pinning "$repo"
     check_dependabot_config "$repo"
-    check_repo_settings "$repo"
+    check_repo_settings "$repo" "$repo_json"
     check_labels "$repo"
     check_rulesets "$repo"
     check_codeowners "$repo"
diff --git a/scripts/lib/push-protection.sh b/scripts/lib/push-protection.sh
index 4f340d5..9f1ea5d 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/push-protection.sh
+++ b/scripts/lib/push-protection.sh
@@ -200,7 +200,8 @@ pp_check_secret_scan_ci_job() {
     return
   fi
 
-  if ! echo "$ci_content" | grep -qiE 'gitleaks'; then
+  # Match actual action references, not bare mentions in comments or docs.
+  if ! echo "$ci_content" | grep -qE 'uses:[[:space:]]*(gitleaks/gitleaks-action|zricethezav/gitleaks-action)@'; then
     add_finding "$repo" "push-protection" "secret_scan_ci_job_present" "error" \
       "\`ci.yml\` does not contain a job using \`gitleaks\` — add the secret-scan job from the standard" \
       "$PP_STANDARD_REF#required-ci-job"
diff --git a/standards/github-settings.md b/standards/github-settings.md
index 04ec2f6..3b6cfea 100644
--- a/standards/github-settings.md
+++ b/standards/github-settings.md
@@ -142,9 +142,9 @@ rules are deprecated — migrate existing classic rules to rulesets.
 
 ### `code-quality` — Required Checks Ruleset (All Repositories)
 
-Every repository MUST have all five quality checks configured and required.
-The specific check names and ecosystem configurations vary by repo, but the
-categories are universal.
+Every repository MUST have the following quality checks configured and
+required. The specific check names and ecosystem configurations vary by repo,
+but the categories are universal.
 
 #### Required Check Categories
 
@@ -155,6 +155,7 @@ categories are universal.
 | **Claude Code** | All repos | `claude` | AI code review on every PR |
 | **CI Pipeline** | All repos | Repo-specific (e.g., `build-and-test`, `TypeScript`, `Go`) | Lint, format, typecheck, test |
 | **Coverage** | All repos | `coverage` or embedded in CI job | Must meet repo-defined thresholds |
+| **Secret Scan** | All repos | `Secret scan (gitleaks)` | Full-history gitleaks scan — see [Push Protection Standard](push-protection.md#layer-3--ci-secret-scanning-secondary-defense) |
 
 #### Ecosystem-Specific Configuration
 
diff --git a/standards/push-protection.md b/standards/push-protection.md
index 4444f72..05d3fe9 100644
--- a/standards/push-protection.md
+++ b/standards/push-protection.md
@@ -100,14 +100,17 @@ compliance audit checks these flags via `GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}`:
 Apply per repo via:
 
 ```bash
-gh api -X PATCH "repos/petry-projects/<repo>" \
-  -F security_and_analysis='{
+gh api -X PATCH "repos/petry-projects/<repo>" --input - <<'JSON'
+{
+  "security_and_analysis": {
     "secret_scanning": {"status": "enabled"},
     "secret_scanning_push_protection": {"status": "enabled"},
     "secret_scanning_ai_detection": {"status": "enabled"},
     "secret_scanning_non_provider_patterns": {"status": "enabled"},
     "dependabot_security_updates": {"status": "enabled"}
-  }'
+  }
+}
+JSON
 ```
 
 `scripts/apply-repo-settings.sh` MUST enforce these values alongside the
@@ -124,12 +127,12 @@ weekly audit. See [Application](#application-to-a-repository) below.
 The org MUST configure the following custom patterns in addition to the
 provider-supplied ones:
 
-| Pattern name | Regex (illustrative) | Rationale |
-|--------------|----------------------|-----------|
+| Pattern name | Pattern (illustrative) | Rationale |
+|--------------|------------------------|-----------|
 | `petry-internal-webhook` | `https://hooks\.petry-projects\.internal/[A-Za-z0-9/_-]{20,}` | Internal webhook URLs |
 | `claude-oauth-token` | `sk-ant-oat01-[A-Za-z0-9_-]{40,}` | Anthropic OAuth tokens |
 | `gha-pat-scoped` | `github_pat_[A-Za-z0-9_]{82}` | Fine-grained GitHub PATs (provider pattern supplements) |
-| `generic-high-entropy` | High-entropy strings assigned to `*_TOKEN`, `*_SECRET`, `*_KEY` env vars | Catches untyped long strings in YAML and `.env` files |
+| `generic-high-entropy` | `(?:_TOKEN\|_SECRET\|_KEY)\s*[:=]\s*["']?[A-Za-z0-9/+=_-]{32,}` | Catches untyped long strings in YAML and `.env` files |
 
 Custom patterns are configured at **Org settings → Code security → Secret
 scanning → Custom patterns**. Each new pattern MUST be dry-run against all
@@ -414,7 +417,7 @@ both at once:
 | `non_provider_patterns_enabled` | warning | `security_and_analysis.secret_scanning_non_provider_patterns.status == "enabled"` |
 | `dependabot_security_updates_enabled` | warning | `security_and_analysis.dependabot_security_updates.status == "enabled"` |
 | `open_secret_alerts` | error | `GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/secret-scanning/alerts?state=open` returns an empty array |
-| `secret_scan_ci_job_present` | error | `.github/workflows/ci.yml` contains a job using `gitleaks` |
+| `secret_scan_ci_job_present` | error | `.github/workflows/ci.yml` contains a job using `gitleaks/gitleaks-action` |
 | `gitignore_secrets_block` | warning | `.gitignore` contains `.env`, `*.pem`, `*.key` entries |
 | `push_protection_bypasses_recent` | warning | No bypasses in the last 30 days without a documented justification |