diff --git a/.release-please-manifest.json b/.release-please-manifest.json
index 173e533c..44a72c4b 100644
--- a/.release-please-manifest.json
+++ b/.release-please-manifest.json
@@ -1 +1 @@
-{".":"0.1.7"}
\ No newline at end of file
+{".":"0.1.8"}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 1f0d166d..6eaaba8a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,17 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## [0.1.8](https://github.com/validator-labs/validator/compare/v0.1.7...v0.1.8) (2024-08-23)
+
+
+### Features
+
+* introduce PluginSpec interface ([#403](https://github.com/validator-labs/validator/issues/403)) ([3adc6a0](https://github.com/validator-labs/validator/commit/3adc6a050cfeb1f8e25103f2363a7a893722d993))
+
+
+### Dependency Updates
+
+* **deps:** update module github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2 to v2.20.1 ([#398](https://github.com/validator-labs/validator/issues/398)) ([baa9201](https://github.com/validator-labs/validator/commit/baa92012ea4eedc41b8e7fd6f9def11500ea0945))
+
 ## [0.1.7](https://github.com/validator-labs/validator/compare/v0.1.6...v0.1.7) (2024-08-22)
 
 
diff --git a/chart/validator/Chart.yaml b/chart/validator/Chart.yaml
index 51fd0a9f..a03c2e5a 100644
--- a/chart/validator/Chart.yaml
+++ b/chart/validator/Chart.yaml
@@ -4,5 +4,5 @@ description: >-
   Monitor results created by validator plugins and upload them to a configurable
   sink
 type: application
-version: 0.1.7
+version: 0.1.8
 appVersion: 0.0.27
diff --git a/chart/validator/README.md b/chart/validator/README.md
index 6d7eaf1f..9345d780 100644
--- a/chart/validator/README.md
+++ b/chart/validator/README.md
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ The following table lists the configurable parameters of the Validator chart and
 | `controllerManager.manager.containerSecurityContext.allowPrivilegeEscalation` |  | `false` |
 | `controllerManager.manager.containerSecurityContext.capabilities.drop` |  | `["ALL"]` |
 | `controllerManager.manager.image.repository` |  | `"quay.io/validator-labs/validator"` |
-| `controllerManager.manager.image.tag` | x-release-please-version | `"v0.1.7"` |
+| `controllerManager.manager.image.tag` | x-release-please-version | `"v0.1.8"` |
 | `controllerManager.manager.resources.limits.cpu` |  | `"500m"` |
 | `controllerManager.manager.resources.limits.memory` |  | `"512Mi"` |
 | `controllerManager.manager.resources.requests.cpu` |  | `"10m"` |
diff --git a/chart/validator/values.yaml b/chart/validator/values.yaml
index 3deec018..27de821d 100644
--- a/chart/validator/values.yaml
+++ b/chart/validator/values.yaml
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ controllerManager:
         - ALL
     image:
       repository: quay.io/validator-labs/validator
-      tag: v0.1.7  # x-release-please-version
+      tag: v0.1.8  # x-release-please-version
     resources:
       limits:
         cpu: 500m
diff --git a/hack/chart/values-base.yaml b/hack/chart/values-base.yaml
index 68108024..16b51746 100644
--- a/hack/chart/values-base.yaml
+++ b/hack/chart/values-base.yaml
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ controllerManager:
         - ALL
     image:
       repository: quay.io/validator-labs/validator
-      tag: v0.1.7  # x-release-please-version
+      tag: v0.1.8  # x-release-please-version
     resources:
       limits:
         cpu: 500m
diff --git a/hack/hauler-manifest-template.yaml b/hack/hauler-manifest-template.yaml
index ff7f1df1..c6075717 100644
--- a/hack/hauler-manifest-template.yaml
+++ b/hack/hauler-manifest-template.yaml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ metadata:
   name: validator-images
 spec:
   images:
-    - name: quay.io/validator-labs/validator:v0.1.7 # x-release-please-version
+    - name: quay.io/validator-labs/validator:v0.1.8 # x-release-please-version
     - name: quay.io/validator-labs/validator-plugin-aws:v${AWS_VERSION}
     - name: quay.io/validator-labs/validator-plugin-azure:v${AZURE_VERSION}
     - name: quay.io/validator-labs/validator-plugin-kubescape:v${KUBESCAPE_VERSION}
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ spec:
   charts:
     - name: validator
       repoURL: https://validator-labs.github.io/validator
-      version: 0.1.7 # x-release-please-version
+      version: 0.1.8 # x-release-please-version
     - name: validator-plugin-aws
       repoURL: https://validator-labs.github.io/validator-plugin-aws
       version: ${AWS_VERSION}
diff --git a/hauler-manifest.yaml b/hauler-manifest.yaml
index 0cefe7a5..c8dccd1e 100644
--- a/hauler-manifest.yaml
+++ b/hauler-manifest.yaml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ metadata:
   name: validator-images
 spec:
   images:
-    - name: quay.io/validator-labs/validator:v0.1.7 # x-release-please-version
+    - name: quay.io/validator-labs/validator:v0.1.8 # x-release-please-version
     - name: quay.io/validator-labs/validator-plugin-aws:v0.1.5
     - name: quay.io/validator-labs/validator-plugin-azure:v0.0.18
     - name: quay.io/validator-labs/validator-plugin-kubescape:v0.0.4
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ spec:
   charts:
     - name: validator
       repoURL: https://validator-labs.github.io/validator
-      version: 0.1.7 # x-release-please-version
+      version: 0.1.8 # x-release-please-version
     - name: validator-plugin-aws
       repoURL: https://validator-labs.github.io/validator-plugin-aws
       version: 0.1.5