Securing Kubernetes

In Chapter 3, High Availability and Reliability, we looked at reliable and highly available Kubernetes clusters, the basic concepts, the best practices, how to do live updates, and the many design trade-offs regarding performance and cost.

In this chapter, we will explore the important topic of security. Kubernetes clusters are complicated systems composed of multiple layers of interacting components. Isolation and compartmentalization of different layers is very important when running critical applications. To secure the system and ensure proper access to resources, capabilities, and data, we must first understand the unique challenges facing Kubernetes as a general-purpose orchestration platform that runs unknown workloads. Then we can take advantage of various securities, isolation, and access control mechanisms to make sure the cluster, the applications running on it, and the data are all safe. We will discuss various best practices and when it is...