According to a recent report by Cloud Native Computing Foundation, 28% of businesses are already running 99% of workloads in insecure Kubernates configuration. What’s even worse is that 71% of these workloads are working with root access. This makes it easier for cyberattackers to compromise and steal the data.
This makes containers more prone to unauthorized access, cybersecurity attacks and data breaches. According to a prediction by Gartner, the number of organziations using containerized applications is expected to reach 95% by 2029. This is a massive jump as the number currently stands at less than 50%. Expect the majority of vendors to offer software that is running inside containers.
All this shows that containers will become an integral part of DevOps and DevSecOps. The real question is how can you secure these containers and prevent software supply chain disruptions? That is exactly the question we will try to answer in this article. In this article, Anti-Dos will share seven reasons why you should secure your containers to protect your software supply chain.
Table of Contents
7 Reasons Why You Should Secure Your Containers To Protect Your Software Supply Chain
1. Invest In Tools Tailor Made For Container Security
2. Make Cybersecurity an Integral Part of CI/CD Pipeline
3. Implement Stringent Access Control
4. Keep The Container Images Up To Date
5. Run Comprehensive Vulnerability Scans
6. Network Security Policies and Controls
7. Segment Your Network
7 Reasons Why You Should Secure Your Containers To Protect Your Software Supply Chain
Here are seven reasons why securing containers can help you protect your software supply chain from cybersecurity attacks.
- Invest In Tools Tailor Made For Container Security
General purpose cybersecurity tools do not cut it anymore. Since these tools are designed with container security nuances in mind, it can do a much better job than generic security solutions used for securing containers. These tools may cost you a little more but it is worth paying extra for these tools.
2. Make Cybersecurity an Integral Part of CI/CD Pipeline
Start off by integrating security checks on every touchpoint in your continuous integration and continuous delivery pipeline. This will not only help you identify security loopholes earlier and plug those loopholes before threat actors can take advantage of it.
Always ensure that your containers are sourced from trusted registers. Some vendors even offer services such as real time threat detection and incident response while others let you scan for these vulnerabilities. Depending on your container security needs, you can choose a solution that fulfills your business use case perfectly.
3. Implement Stringent Access Control
One of the best ways to secure your containers is to adopt a zero trust approach to container security. This means that every container has least privileged access, preventing malicious actors to abuse access and move laterally through your network and target other components in your software supply chain.
Enforcing the principle of least privilege on every container is a tedious task but it is critical to preventing attackers from using compromised containers as a ladder to reach out to other components in your network and software supply chain. This significantly limits the damage a cybercriminal can do to your software supply chain, as the containers they have compromised have limited accessibility and privileges.
4. Keep The Container Images Up To Date
Whether it is your computer, operating system, software, application or container images, you should always keep all that updated to the latest version. The latest version usually comes with bug fixes from previous versions and offers performance and efficiency improvements in the process.
The newer versions are more secure as compared to older versions. If updating the container images seems like a daunting task, you can always use tools and platforms that automate the whole process for you. This makes the process hassle free so you don’t even have to think about it.
5. Run Comprehensive Vulnerability Scans
If you are serious about container security then your continuous integration and continuous delivery pipeline must contain vulnerability scans. These vulnerability scans should scan deeply and find vulnerabilities hidden in places that usually get ignored.
Thanks to these vulnerability scans, businesses can minimize the risk of deploying containers which have security loopholes in them. This way, any container you deploy is fully secure and does not let hackers any opportunity to get in. With secure containers, your software supply chain will continue to function flawlessly. You won’t experience any disruption in your software supply chain and churn out secure software faster.
6. Network Security Policies and Controls
Put yourself in the shoes of a hacker and think what areas of a container can you target and where you could find a loophole to exploit. This could enable you to find integration points where vulnerabilities could exist. Once you protect these access points to your network, you can reduce the chances of a successful data breach.
If you are using a tool for container security, it will give you access to advanced malware protection to manage your network security. For those who have complex networks and use multiple vendor solutions, you might have a lot of options at your disposal to implement strict network policies. All you have to do is to take advantage of it and block malicious actors and traffic from entering your network.
7. Segment Your Network
Another great way to protect your sensitive workloads is to isolate them. This can easily be done by segmenting your network. You can create network segmentation based on different criteria but if security is your priority then you should put data criticality to your business at the top spot when doing network segmentation.
You can take things to a whole new level by vaulting data stored in a container with layers of identity and access management and privilege access management solutions. This can fortify your containers and beef up the cybersecurity of your software supply chain. Make sure that your segmentation efforts adapt to the rapidly changing containers and Kubernetes workflow otherwise, it won’t benefit your business in terms of security.
How do you safeguard your software supply chain? Share it with us in the comments section below.
