diff --git a/deny.toml b/deny.toml
index f61992a6..dd7a2373 100644
--- a/deny.toml
+++ b/deny.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,3 @@
-[graph]
-targets = []
-
 [advisories]
 unmaintained = "workspace"
 yanked = "deny"
diff --git a/scripts/ci/quality_gate_strict.sh b/scripts/ci/quality_gate_strict.sh
index f66c20e0..48ef2433 100755
--- a/scripts/ci/quality_gate_strict.sh
+++ b/scripts/ci/quality_gate_strict.sh
@@ -8,11 +8,11 @@ echo "==> clippy (all warnings)"
 cargo clippy --locked --all --benches --tests --examples --all-features -- -D warnings
 
 echo "==> cargo deny"
-if command -v cargo-deny &>/dev/null; then
-    cargo deny check
-else
-    echo "WARN: cargo-deny not installed, skipping (install with: cargo install cargo-deny)"
+if ! command -v cargo-deny &>/dev/null; then
+    echo "ERROR: cargo-deny not installed (install with: cargo install cargo-deny)"
+    exit 1
 fi
+cargo deny check
 
 echo "==> tests"
 cargo test --locked