Kubernetes-focused attacks are on the rise. Here is an overview of the current threats and best practices for securing your clusters. The runaway success of Kubernetes adoption by enterprise software developers has created motivation for attackers to target these installations with specifically designed exploits that leverage its popularity. Attackers have become better at hiding their malware, avoiding the almost trivial security controls, and using common techniques such as privilege escalation and lateral network movement to spread their exploits across enterprise networks. While methods for enforcing Kubernetes security best practices exist, they aren’t universally well known and require specialized knowledge, tools, and tactics that are very different from securing ordinary cloud and virtual machine use cases.

In this post for CSO, I examine the threat landscape, what exploits security vendors are detecting, and ways that enterprises can better harden their Kubernetes installations and defend themselves.examine the threat landscape, what exploits security vendors are detecting, and ways that enterprises can better harden their Kubernetes installations and defend themselves.