How to secure Kubernetes at the infrastructure level: 10 best practices
Infrastructure security is something that is important to get right so that attacks can be prevented—or, in the case of a successful attack—damage can be minimized. It is especially important in a Kubernetes environment because, by default, a large number of Kubernetes configurations are not secure.
Securing Kubernetes at the infrastructure level requires a combination of host hardening, cluster hardening, and network security.
- Host hardening – Secures the servers or virtual machines on which Kubernetes is hosted
- Cluster hardening – Secures Kubernetes’s control plane components
- Network security – Ensures secure integration of the cluster with surrounding infrastructure
Let’s dive into each of these and look at best practices for securing both self-hosted and managed Kubernetes clusters.
Host hardening
There are many techniques that can be used to ensure a secure host. Here are three best practices for host hardening.
Use a modern immutable Linux distribution
If you have the flexibility to choose an operating system (i.e. your organization doesn’t standardize on one operating system across all infrastructure), use a modern immutable Linux distribution, such as Flatcar Container Linux or Bottlerocket. This type of operating system is specifically designed for containers and offers several benefits, including:
- Immutability – This type Continue reading
