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What is the security configuration of the container orchestration system considered compliant?

Created on 2025-07-25 18:16:40
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A compliant security configuration for a container orchestration system involves implementing multiple layers of security controls to protect the cluster, workloads, and data. Key aspects include:

  1. Authentication & Authorization

    • Use role-based access control (RBAC) to restrict access to cluster resources based on user roles.
    • Enforce strong authentication mechanisms, such as OAuth, LDAP, or multi-factor authentication (MFA).

  2. Network Security

    • Implement network policies to control pod-to-pod communication, limiting unnecessary exposure.
    • Use private clusters or VPNs to restrict external access to the control plane.

  3. Pod & Container Security

    • Run containers as non-root users to minimize privilege escalation risks.
    • Apply security context settings (e.g., read-only root filesystems, seccomp, and AppArmor profiles).
    • Scan container images for vulnerabilities before deployment (e.g., using tools like Trivy or Clair).

  4. Cluster Hardening

    • Keep the container runtime (e.g., containerd, Docker) and orchestration platform (e.g., Kubernetes) updated with the latest security patches.
    • Disable anonymous access to the Kubernetes API server.
    • Enable audit logging to monitor and investigate suspicious activities.

  5. Secrets Management

    • Store sensitive data (e.g., API keys, passwords) in a secure secrets management system (e.g., Kubernetes Secrets with encryption at rest, or Tencent Cloud Secrets Manager).

  6. Compliance Standards Alignment

    • Ensure configurations align with industry standards like NIST, CIS Benchmarks, or ISO 27001.

Example:
A Kubernetes cluster in Tencent Cloud TKE (Tencent Kubernetes Engine) can be configured for compliance by:

  • Enabling RBAC and restricting API access via Network Policies.
  • Using Tencent Cloud Container Registry (TCR) with image vulnerability scanning.
  • Storing secrets in Tencent Cloud Secrets Manager instead of plaintext Kubernetes Secrets.
  • Applying CIS Kubernetes Benchmark best practices via automated security tools.

Tencent Cloud TKE also provides built-in security features like cluster hardening guides, runtime protection, and compliance monitoring to help meet regulatory requirements.