Kubernetes security and ISO 27001 compliance: challenges and solutions

Kubernetes has gained significant popularity as a cloud platform for managing and orchestrating containerized applications. However, companies today must ensure that their Kubernetes environments are secure and comply with international standards. 

In this blog post, we will explore the topic of Kubernetes compliance under ISO 27001, one of the world’s most widely recognized information security standards.

• 👋 Read more articles in our compliance series: 
• ✅ An essential guide to achieving compliance with Kubernetes
• ✅ The definitive guide to compliance with cloud-managed Kubernetes
• ✅ Introducing Compliance Score: simplifying compliance assessment
• ✅ Kubernetes compliance & HIPPA
• ✅ Kubernetes compliance & GDPR
• ✅ Kubernetes compliance & SOC 2

What is ISO 27001?

ISO 27001 is an international security standard that offers organizations a systematic approach to handling sensitive data. Its guidelines help organizations of all sizes and types identify and manage information security risks and ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their data assets.

While organizations have to meet certain requirements to receive ISO 27001 certification, the framework is adaptable to a company’s specific needs. 

ISO 27001 requires a risk-based approach to security. This entails identifying and assessing threats to data assets and then implementing controls to counter those risks. Organizations can thus prioritize their security efforts and allocate resources effectively.

There are many benefits to ISO 27001 compliance. It can improve risk management, protect against cyber threats, and demonstrate to clients, partners, and regulators a commitment to data security. Adhering to the standard also helps address weaknesses in security practices.

Kubernetes: sensitive workloads and attack surface

Kubernetes provides some powerful features for managing and securing sensitive workloads, such as Kubernetes role-based access control (RBAC), network policies, and container security contexts. However, it is still essential for companies to harden and secure their Kubernetes environment itself. This involves implementing best practices for securing the Kubernetes control plane, including limiting access to the Kubernetes API server, using secure network communication protocols, and monitoring Kubernetes clusters for breaches.

One crucial consideration is the attack surface. As a complex distributed system, Kubernetes presents numerous potential attack vectors that must be addressed to comply with ISO 27001. These may be misconfigured Kubernetes resources, insecure container images, or vulnerabilities in the underlying infrastructure. 

By taking a proactive approach to Kubernetes security, businesses can ensure they are able to meet the requirements of ISO 27001 to properly protect their sensitive data and applications.

ISO 27001 and Kubernetes

In this section, we will cover the relevant clauses of ISO 27001, discussing the specific challenges and considerations for securing Kubernetes clusters per the ISO 27001 standard. The first three clauses—namely “Scope,” “Normative references,” and “Terms and definitions”—explain the details of the ISO 27001 standard. Thus, for the purpose of Kubernetes compliance, we will start from the fourth section.

Section 4: context of the organization

Organizations must first identify the assets they need to protect and the risks they have to manage. In this section, businesses should define the scope of their Kubernetes environment and establish information security objectives and policies. For example, the former can be determined by identifying the namespaces, clusters, and nodes that are part of the Kubernetes platform.

Section 5: leadership

Leadership is critical in promoting information security. Decision-makers must assign responsibility for the security management of Kubernetes clusters and infrastructure; they must also ensure this is integrated into their overall business strategy, including by providing sufficient resources and support to their security teams. 

Section 6: planning

The risk assessment phase should identify the assets, vulnerabilities, and threats associated with the Kubernetes environment. The risk mitigation plan should outline the controls that will be implemented to manage these risks, such as RBAC, network policies, and secure coding practices.

Section 7: support

Businesses must provide appropriate resources, training, and awareness related to Kubernetes security; this may take the form of teaching developers and administrators Kubernetes security best practices and Kubernetes-native features. Companies should also provide resources such as tools and documentation to help developers and administrators implement security controls in their Kubernetes clusters.

Section 8: operation

Kubernetes is a relatively new technology, and there is currently a talent gap in terms of people who are skilled in its use. Implementing information security controls, such as incident management, change management, and backup and recovery processes in ephemeral and dynamic Kubernetes environments, can be challenging. Businesses must adapt to these requirements to ensure their Kubernetes clusters remain secure.

Section 9: performance evaluation

Companies need to monitor and evaluate the security performance of their Kubernetes infrastructure. Organizations can implement this using metrics and audits to measure their security controls’ effectiveness and identify areas in need of improvement.

Section 10: improvement

Continuous improvement is critical for maintaining the security of the Kubernetes landscape. Businesses must take corrective actions, adjust risk treatment plans, and provide security awareness programs. 

Kubernetes security features and tools that support ISO 27001 compliance

The Kubernetes ecosystem offers several security features and tools to meet the requirements of ISO 27001:

• Role-based access control (RBAC): Kubernetes RBAC policies define roles with specific permissions for accessing and managing Kubernetes resources.
• Network policies: These define and enforce traffic rules between Kubernetes pods and services to limit the attack surface and prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data.
• Secrets management: Kubernetes offers a built-in secrets management feature that allows administrators to securely store and manage sensitive data such as passwords, API keys, and other credentials. However, Secrets are stored unencrypted in the API server’s data store. This allows anyone with API access or access to etcd to retrieve or modify them, and anyone authorized to create a Pod in a namespace can indirectly access any Secret in that namespace. Therefore, it is essential to consider encrypting secret data at rest to use secrets in a secure way. 
• Image scanning: The Kubernetes ecosystem offers several scanning tools to discover vulnerabilities in container images, such as Clair and Kubescape.
• Logging and monitoring: Kubernetes works efficiently with several logging and monitoring tools, such as Prometheus and Fluentd; companies can use these to monitor Kubernetes clusters for security incidents and to collect and analyze logs.
• Compliance automation: Open Policy Agent (OPA) and Gatekeeper automate compliance checks and ensure that Kubernetes configurations comply with ISO 27001 requirements.

By leveraging these features and tools, businesses can enhance the security of their Kubernetes environments and ensure they achieve ISO 27001 compliance. However, it is essential to note that these tools should be part of a comprehensive security strategy that includes risk assessments, security policies, and ongoing monitoring and auditing of their Kubernetes clusters.

In the next section, we will review a few best practices to help companies keep their strategy tight.

Best practices for achieving Kubernetes compliance under ISO 27001

There are widely accepted best practices in the industry to help organizations comply with ISO 27001.

Define a security policy

Businesses must have a clear and comprehensive security policy in place. This should detail the organization’s approach to managing information security risks in its Kubernetes landscape, including the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders. 

Implement access controls

These ensure that only authorized users gain access to sensitive data in a Kubernetes environment. Businesses should implement role-based access control (RBAC) to restrict permissions to Kubernetes resources and enforce the principle of least privilege.

Use network security measures

Kubernetes provides a range of network security measures that organizations can use to protect sensitive data, including network policies and secure network plugins. Network policies enable businesses to define how pods communicate with each other and external resources, while secure network plugins encrypt network traffic to prevent data interception and theft.

Employ encryption techniques

Encryption is an essential tool for protecting sensitive data in Kubernetes clusters. Via tools such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) and encrypted storage volumes, companies should encrypt their data to protect it at rest and in transit.

Stay on top of the latest security best practices

Kubernetes is a rapidly evolving technology, so businesses must be up-to-date with recent best practices to maintain ISO 27001 compliance. This requires keeping current on emerging threats and vulnerabilities, promptly implementing patches and updates, and adopting new security measures and controls.

By following these best practices, businesses can adhere to ISO 27001 for their Kubernetes environments, ensuring that sensitive data is protected and information security risks are managed effectively.

Conclusion

As a widely recognized international standard for information security management, ISO 27001 provides a framework for businesses to manage data security risks and protect sensitive information. Kubernetes is also an excellent tool for managing and securing sensitive workloads and can help organizations meet the requirements of ISO 27001.

Businesses should implement best practices and utilize the features of Kubernetes and tools of the cloud-native ecosystem as much as possible. By aligning their Kubernetes cluster configuration and management with the guidelines of ISO 27001, companies can achieve compliance and protect their sensitive data from being compromised.