Secure Your Container Platform Using Automation

The buzz around containers continues to grow. More companies are jumping on the bandwagon all the time. With new technology, comes the need for new security as well. People tend to become overeager when it comes to new technologies and don’t follow the best practices or overlook lacking security. DevOps and container security fit this trend.

Kevin Casey, of the Enterprise Project, released an article citing some top industry professional’s tips regarding container security best practices. I recently wrote an article regarding container security in the build environment and using Casey’s article I wanted to expand on the best practices for container security.

Automate Automate Automate

Automation is everywhere. Almost every article I write mentions automation, and for good reason. Making automation a key aspect of container security is crucial. You don’t want your containers to be reliant on manual security processes, this is inviting trouble. At this point, there isn’t much you want to be reliant on manual security. Tools like Kubernetes help manage container deployment security tasks, but this isn’t always enough, as Tesla recently learned.

Containers can be a motivator to change security practices. If you’re changing your development process, why wouldn’t you look at other related processes at this time? It’s the perfect time to evaluate what you need to improve.

I’ve been making fun of Tesla for their hack recently because there’s really no excuse for it. DevOps is about collaboration and working together. They chose collaboration at the expense of security, but instead of doing this, why not just automate certain security functions like identity access management?

Casey references a quote from a recent Red Hat podcast, “You really want automation, orchestration to help manage which containers should be deployed to which hosts; monitoring host capacity; container discovery – knowing which containers need to access each other; managing shared resources, and monitoring container health.”

Additional container security resources

My recent article delves into specifics regarding container security in the build environment. Below is an excerpt:

“Security shouldn’t be added without developers in mind. Containers allow developers to focus on creating applications without having to worry about the supporting systems. They are also lightweight, meaning they can scale and be modified easily. These core benefits to containers should not be overlooked when looking at security controls. Hindering these positives will have a negative impact on developers and applications.”