There are a range of security best practices particular to Kubernetes ─ and containers in general ─ that can help impenetrable the clusters and workloads. They all should be incorporated. This article explores DevSecOps and its approach to dealing with the Kubernetes infrastructure in a secure manner.
Kubernetes, the extensible, open-source platform that accelerates app improvement by managing containerized workloads and services, is growing in popularity. But as it does, there are rising worries about how to secure the cloud-native apps being developed and the underlying Kubernetes infrastructure.
Some of the concerns stem from the reality that when deploying Kubernetes from open source, none of the security controls are configured. It’s up to you to figure out how they work. There’s additionally a lack of built-in security in Kubernetes to ensure the containers and code strolling on the cluster are safe.
There are a variety of security first-rate practices specific to Kubernetes ─ and containers in general ─ that can assist secure the clusters and workloads. They all should be incorporated.
However, adopting a DevSecOps method to cloud-native app development, including its use of Kubernetes, not solely addresses specific security issues. It additionally creates a culture in which security is a precedence throughout the entire utility development lifecycle.
About DevSecOps
DevSecOps stands for development, security, and operations. It’s an approach that integrates safety as a shared responsibility among all challenge teams throughout the complete app development lifecycle. It also skill thinking about app security from the start. Security is no longer some thing that gets integrated at the remaining stages of app development. To Read More: Cloud Migration Checklist
That’s why it’s essential that safety teams and any partners must be brought in at the beginning of cloud-native app improvement projects. It enables them to build in records security and agree on a security automation format before a project progresses.
Collaboration and verbal exchange are critical. For example, development teams want to code with security in mind. And security groups need to share visibility, feedback, and insights on known threats.
DevSecOps additionally entails automating security gates to keep the DevOps workflow from slowing down. Selecting equipment to continuously integrate security, like agreeing on an built-in development environment (IDE) with protection features, can help.
The DevOps Foundation
Not surprisingly, DevOps forms the foundation for DevSecOps. For example, DevOps practices use standardization to speed up collaboration and interaction between project teams. DevSecOps capitalizes on this, looking for opportunities to streamline workflows and consolidate tooling for security functions. By aligning safety with the familiar, standardized abstractions and tooling already used by DevOps teams, DevSecOps makes it easy for all groups to do their part to mitigate potential safety issues. To Read More: Kubernetes security best practices
For example, Kubernetes employs a robust object and resource mannequin with concepts such as deployments and replica sets. They’re the major way that pods, the smallest unit of computing in Kubernetes, are deployed. It makes sense that security groups should align with them as well, instead of developing a custom framework.
Basing security functions, such as configuration administration and runtime detection, on existing Kubernetes objects and resources additionally enables all team participants to have a consistent understanding of protection issues.
The DevOps to DevSecOps Transition
While transitioning to a DevSecOps way of life from DevOps requires a change in how security is viewed, there are also tactics that are helpful in particular for integrating DevSecOps practices in Kubernetes environments.
The first step is to focus on how apps are built. And, not surprisingly, to make safety a part of the process early on. Apps constructed using monolithic architectures are typically problem to updates, patches, and manual changes whilst running in production. However, in cloud-native environments, developers and DevOps groups rebuild and redeploy containers while treating running them as immutable. As such, the grant chain serves as a centralized place for applying all changes.
By securing the grant chain, containerized apps are better protected earlier than being deployed into production. Because the supply chain is where DevOps methodologies are normally applied, it’s an easy place to begin extending DevOps practices to DevSecOps practices.
Security teams can use this to their advantage for defending cloud-native apps. One of the ways to improve protection for Kubernetes environments is to avoid letting app vulnerabilities be introduced into manufacturing environments. By incorporating container image scanning into CI/CD pipelines, teams can allow the identification of OS and language-specific vulnerabilities in the app images.
Other DevSecOps Security Tactics
There are many other ways to use DevSecOps to enhance security across the provide chain. That includes using immutable tags to music specific images that are used to install containerized applications. Unnecessary tools and components in pics can also be removed. And development groups can make sure that secrets aren’t embedded in images.
Yet any other tactic – using an Infrastructure as Code (IaC) model to create a “Security as Code” approach. DevOps groups often use an IaC model primarily based on interfacing with declarative APIs to ensure configurations are specified upfront and applied consistently across environments. This is usually used for provisioning cloud infrastructure, configuring cloud services, setting up recurring API interactions, and different workflows.
Extending the IaC model to include safety functions, in essence, enables a Security as Code approach. It facilitates proactive, automated, and repeatable safety control configuration across apps and infrastructure. This works especially well for Kubernetes environments since most are comprised of a couple of clusters that may or may no longer be provisioned across multi-cloud or hybrid cloud environments. To Read More: Devsecops vs Devops
Teams have to determine how to securely and persistently configure the clusters when the infrastructure is provisioned, and the apps deployed. That’s not always convenient given that significant differences exist between Kubernetes platforms. Some expose weaknesses by using including and deploying the Kubernetes dashboard. Others only guide older Kubernetes versions that contain recognized vulnerabilities. Still, others have weak authentication and authorization, along with community traffic restrictions. A DevSecOps approach can take care of these differences and ensure constant security.
Embracing the DevSecOps Approach
Dealing with the security issues related with Kubernetes doesn’t have to be difficult. That’s particularly true if improvement teams take advantage of the broad variety of available equipment and best practices. However, implementing a DevSecOps strategy provides an extra layer of security. And it establishes a way of wondering about security that can benefit app improvement in general.
