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Container security is a vital factor for all companies that use containers to execute software, as an alternative to virtual machines (VMs).
It is a total of policies and tools that are applied to maintain a container running as it was meant to. Container security includes protecting the infrastructure, the software supply chain, runtime, and many more. Because the containerized environment is such a complex and dynamic structure, we recommend system administrators automatize container security completely.
A container is a software conglomeration that has all the components required for the soft to work: executables, libraries, binary code, and configuration files. It can run any kind of application and it will do it the same way in any environment. It makes the „write once, run anywhere” developers` dream come true.
Containerization fans prefer to run software this way due to its portability, efficiency, flexibility, and improved security, as the containers are isolated from each other and from the host system.
How Does Container Security Benefit Your Business?
Since using containers to run, move and deploy software increased, container security went right to the top of the priorities list. And rightly so, because container security not only involves all aspects of securing a containerized app and its supporting infrastructure but also tends to improve IT security as a whole.
Companies strengthen security in general when they need round-the-clock security monitoring across development, testing, and production environments (DevSecOps).
What Are Container Security`s Main Functions?
- Securing the container image.
Programmers tend to use open-source soft when designing containerized applications because it`s fast and cheap. The problem with open-source software is that it frequently has security vulnerabilities. That means developers have to lose time patching them.
- Securing the container runtime configuration.
Containers need to communicate with each other and with network services, so they can work well. But for safety reasons, they also must be isolated both from each other and the host. Otherwise, they can turn into risk factors for the company`s network.
Running containers can be a target of attackers that work around the isolation between the container and the host. By doing so, threat actors can escape from a container, take over the host, and get access to other containers without authorization.
Manage carefully cgroups, Linux namespaces, and access controls, in order to ensure container security.
Container Security Main Elements:
- Cloud & Network Security: containers use networks to communicate with one another, so network and container security are usually discussed together. But actually, cloud security includes networks, containers, apps, servers, etc. Because those are all connected with one another, to keep the system safe, you have to protect all of them. Companies should take checking and preventing cloud vulnerabilities very seriously.
- Configuration: most cloud, orchestration, and container technologies have strong security features and controls. But you have to set them up properly and do some fine-tuning now and then in order for them to work at their best. In areas like access/privilege, isolation, and networking, this configuration comprises vital settings and hardening.
- Automation: containerized apps are by nature very dynamic, as they are meant to be moved and used in different environments. This makes manual vulnerability scanning and detection overwhelming. Automation is therefore fundamental for any container security tool.
Frequent Risks Related to Container Security
With the containers being so easy to use and move around, containerization made life easier for developers. But the security risk factors they bring around are not at all neglectable. Here are some of the downsides of using containerized software, that container security can solve.
- Isolation Errors
Even if the containers are isolated from one another, it doesn`t mean they are completely safe. If threat actors manage to identify a container flaw in the platform, they can gain access to data inside other containers. In order to work, any container needs access to a kernel, so even if the apps in a system are separated, they are still somehow connected, as they use the same kernel.
Containerization platforms use to provide network segmentation, but despite that, unfortunately, network segmentation features are mostly ignored. This common mistake allows threat actors to infect the whole network, once they managed to compromise one container.
- Shady source containers
Keep in mind that attackers too can and will create containers, that they will upload to trusted, intensively used platforms, such as Docker Hub, aiming to compromise potential users` networks. Any IT team should check the source and safety of a container before running and integrating it into their system.
- Unsafe configuration of various items
Keeping the host operation system up to date and secure is one important goal in container security. Machines that run containers can be victims of OS-level attacks. We also recommend system administrators to configure accounts according to the least privilege principle and carefully secure containerization layers.
- Secrets Management
All sensitive data that involves credentials, API keys, and tokens should be secured on both the containerization and orchestration platform.
There are several vulnerabilities that can impact secret management. To name just two of them: scripts that contain hard-coded credentials and were placed in containers, and secrets that were saved on a poorly configured key management system. Both can grant threat actors access to sensitive data.
How Can Heimdal® Help You With Container Security?
Keeping your containers perfectly safe demands top-level security measures for your endpoints` OS, your secrets management, and communication traffic. Employ automation of certain processes and go for a professional security solution, in order to keep up with changes and be able to tackle any new threat that could arise.
Heimdal® Threat Prevention solution helps your team stay ahead of malicious actors and offers 96% accuracy in predicting future threats.
It allows you to spot malicious URLs and processes in time, and also offers the perfect tools to control your endpoints and network. The most recent addition to Threat Prevention – Endpoint, Cloud Access Security Brokerage (CASB), is made to combat insider attacks, find and destroy shadow IT instances. It works for any form of harmful behavior linked to compromised accounts. CASB empowers system administrators to manage their cloud-hosted resources easier and safer, so integrate it into your security mix.
Heimdal® DNS Security Solution
- Machine learning powered scans for all incoming online traffic;
- Stops data breaches before sensitive info can be exposed to the outside;
- Advanced DNS, HTTP and HTTPS filtering for all your endpoints;
- Protection against data leakage, APTs, ransomware and exploits;
Wrap Up
With the usage of serverless container technologies on the rise – researchers report a 15% growth during the last two years, from 21% in 2020 to 36% in 2022 – container security is becoming more and more important. Containers are a great and modern solution that allows programmers to enjoy a „write once, run anywhere” approach to their work. However, securing them properly brings serious challenges to the system administration team. Take container security seriously and address it professionally, so you can avoid any future headaches.
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