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Containers are becoming highly prevalent in modern app development and IT infrastructure. These lightweight, isolated packages contain applications and their dependencies. They are used for packaging, deploying, and managing software applications and services.
While incredibly useful, as companies continue to adopt containers at a rapid pace, it’s unfortunately opening the door for more cyber threats down the road. As time goes on, new cloud container security trends are also arising. In this post, we will discuss critical future trends in container security that IT professionals need to prepare for.
1. The Evolution of Vulnerability Scanning Tools and Practices
Gradually, we are evolving from the shift left approach in security practices. Shift left security is an approach to application development in which we try to detect and mitigate security problems early in the software development cycle. Validation tools play a central role during this process as they are used by developers to find and fix issues.
However, now smart containers are gaining popularity. Instead of focusing on early detection, smart containers focus on validation and compliance. Validation means guaranteeing that containers built and deployed using innovative tools are secure.
These containers are developed using machine learning and automated processes. This way, security best practices are directly built into the container creation. So, instead of waiting for the deployment to detect any threats, you can root out the issues from the beginning with smart containers.
With security measures built directly into the container building lifecycle, vulnerability scanning has a new purpose. Instead of aiming to find flaws earlier, scans are now used to validate that the outputs of the intelligent building process function as intended.
2. The Zero Trust Security Model
Zero trust security is gaining popularity because it is a proactive and practical method in contrast to the traditional reactive approach. Traditionally, resources coming from a reputable source are considered secure. However, the zero trust model treats every resource as insecure until proven otherwise, providing comprehensive precautionary security. For instance, it involves the implementation of multifactor authentication and rigorous user identity management.
In essence, this model ensures the security of user privileges. It secures the devices and network by implementing robust security checks, environment-hardening configurations, and encryption. It also allows you to keep a check on container communications. By keeping a check on container communications, organizations can promptly detect any activity that goes against the established security policies. This visibility reduces organizations’ vulnerability by enabling them to make informed decisions and respond swiftly to security threats or breaches.
3. Immutable Infrastructure
Immutable infrastructure means that once the container is ready, it will not be modified during its life cycle; no in-place modifications are allowed. If any change is required, it can only be made by replacing the existing component with a new one.
Any updates replace existing versions with new ones, and changes are introduced through replacing the entire component. This makes tracing of changes easier. Without any mutations to the running environment, the attack surface is minimized. So, any vulnerabilities introduced during runtime cannot propagate.
Endnote
The rapid adoption of containers has undoubtedly introduced some new challenges. However, with the right strategies in place, you can help prevent vulnerabilities from turning into major issues. If done right from the start, containers have the power to great flexibility without compromising security. You can stay ahead of the curve with a little extra effort and the proper safeguards.
