Kubernetes Security Assessment

A Kubernetes security assessment is a process of evaluating the security posture of a Kubernetes cluster. Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform widely used for deploying, managing, and scaling containerized applications. Ensuring the security of a Kubernetes environment is crucial to protect against potential threats and vulnerabilities.

Kubernetes security describes procedures and defences used to protect a K8s environment, ranging from containerized apps to infrastructure security.

Core Objectives

• Ensures that only authorized users and services have access to the Kubernetes cluster and its resources
• Protects the communication and data flow within the Kubernetes cluster to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches
• Confirms that the configuration of Kubernetes resources and underlying infrastructure follows security best practices, minimizing potential vulnerabilities

Deliverables

• Examine and record the Kubernetes cluster's current setup, taking note of the authentication methods, network policies, and API server settings
• Role-based access control (RBAC) policies should be assessed and validated to guarantee that users' and service accounts' permission levels are appropriate
• Examine container images used by the cluster in detail, making that you comply with best practices, are safe, and have no vulnerabilities
• Verify that communication within the cluster is secure and isolated, review and improve the network policies, and assess the entrance and egress controls
• Analyze and verify the Kubernetes audit logs to make sure pertinent events are properly logged, and evaluate how well log management and monitoring are working
• Examine the cluster's storage and management of sensitive data, including credentials and API tokens, to make that encryption and safe handling are used
• Examine each pod's security posture, paying particular attention to how security contexts are used, privileged containers are used, and best practices for containerized application security are followed
• Examine the current incident response strategy tailored to Kubernetes environments to make sure it covers possible security events and offers precise instructions for fixing them
• Provide and put into place methods for ongoing security monitoring, such as the use of instruments and procedures to quickly identify and address security threats