Container Security Best Practices

What Is Container Security? 

Containerization technology has become increasingly popular in the software development industry due to its many advantages. Containers allow developers to easily package and deploy applications across different environments, making the process of software delivery more efficient and reliable. However, with the increasing use of containers, there is a growing concern about container security.

Container security refers to the set of practices and technologies used to secure containerized applications and their underlying infrastructure. Container security encompasses the security of the container images, the container runtime environment, and the communication between containers.

As the use of containerization technology continues to grow, so do the security challenges that come with it.

Container Security Challenges

The adoption of containerization technology introduces several new security challenges that need to be addressed. To address these challenges, container security best practices have been developed by industry leaders. Below are some of the key challenges:

• Vulnerabilities in container images: Container images can contain vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers.
• Inadequate access controls: If access controls are not implemented properly, unauthorized users may gain access to sensitive data or services. 
• Container escape: If an attacker is able to escape from a particular container, they may be able to access other containers on the host or even the host itself.
• Container sprawl: With the ease of container deployment, organizations may end up with a large number of containers that are difficult to manage, leading to security risks.
• Runtime security: Containers may be vulnerable to runtime attacks, such as privilege escalation or denial of service attacks.

10 Industry Best Practices for Container Security

1. Use trusted base images: Ensure that your container images are based on trusted and secure base images. According to Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media, "The key to container security is ensuring that you use trusted base images."
2. Implement image scanning: Use automated tools to scan container images for vulnerabilities and malware. As Jay Lyman, analyst at 451 Research, puts it, "Image scanning is a must-have for container security."
3. Use the principle of least privilege: Apply the principle of least privilege to ensure that containers only have access to the resources they need to function.
4. Use namespaces and cgroups: Use namespaces and cgroups to isolate containers from each other and from the host.
5. Harden the container runtime: Implement runtime security controls, such as AppArmor or SELinux, to harden the container runtime.
6. Implement network security: Secure container-to-container communication using network security controls, such as firewalls or network segmentation.
7. Implement container logging and monitoring: Implement logging and monitoring to detect and respond to security events.
8. Follow secure deployment practices: Follow secure deployment practices, such as using a continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline and ensuring that containers are deployed with the latest security patches.
9. Train developers: Train developers on container security best practices to ensure that security is baked into the software development process.
10. Use a container security platform: Use a container security platform that provides a centralized view of container security across the organization.

Secure Container Infrastructure is Possible

Containerization technology is rapidly gaining popularity in the software development industry, but with it comes new security challenges. However, with the implementation of container security best practices, organizations can mitigate these risks and ensure that their containerized applications are secure. As Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, says, "Security, privacy, and compliance are the foundation for digital trust. Without digital trust, we cannot succeed in a world where everything is digital." By implementing container security best practices, organizations can build that digital trust and ensure the success of their containerized applications.

How Runecast Helps You

Container security can be challenging, especially when dealing with the complexity of containers and orchestrators such as Kubernetes. Runecast offers actionable solutions to common container security pain points. To ensure good container security, the base image must be secure and conform to best practices. Runecast can help by proactively analyzing and managing vulnerabilities in the container image and your Kubernetes environments. Runecast ensures foolproof container deployment by checking the workload for vulnerabilities before pushing the images into production. Runecast provides a Kubernetes Security Posture Management (KSPM) platform that delivers specialized insight to secure Kubernetes and a Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) to extend protection to the cloud-based infrastructure. Runecast ensures that vulnerabilities and exploits are discovered and remediated as soon as possible, regardless of the environment. To find out more, try our free online demo.