Cloud-Native Security

The 4 C's

Cloud, Clusters, Containers, and Code

"Cloud Native" refers to an approach to application development and deployment that takes full advantage of the characteristics and benefits of cloud computing. Cloud computing offers on-demand resources, scalability, flexibility, and efficiency, and "Cloud Native" applications are specifically designed to operate in this environment.

I've been diving deep into cloud-native security lately, and thought I'd share what I'm learning.

What are the 4 C's? The cloud-native security model is often visualized as concentric layers, with each "C" representing a crucial security domain:

  • Code - The innermost layer (your applications)
  • Container - The packaging of your code
  • Cluster - The orchestration of your containers
  • Cloud - The infrastructure everything runs on

Each layer builds upon the security of the inner layers; protecting one layer does not guarantee the previous layer. But also It does not matter if my code is secure if my container is a Swiss cheese of breaches

Code

  • Dependency scanning
  • SAST/DAST (Static/Dynamic Application Security Testing)
  • Secrets management
  • Secure coding practices

Container

  • Container image scanning
  • Runtime security
  • Container hardening
  • Base image security

Cluster

  • Network policies
  • Pod security standards
  • RBAC (Role-Based Access Control)
  • Admission controllers
  • Secrets management

Cloud

  • IAM (Identity and Access Management)
  • Network security
  • Data encryption
  • Compliance frameworks
  • Infrastructure security

I'll be posting deep dives into each of these layers as I study them.