{"id":22709118,"date":"2023-05-30T04:00:22","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T11:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thenewstack.io\/?p=22709118"},"modified":"2023-05-26T08:34:01","modified_gmt":"2023-05-26T15:34:01","slug":"how-to-protect-containerized-workloads-at-runtime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thenewstack.io\/how-to-protect-containerized-workloads-at-runtime\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Protect Containerized Workloads at Runtime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Security is (finally) getting its due in the enterprise. Witness trends such as DevSecOps<\/a> and the “shift left” approach<\/a> — meaning to move security<\/a> as early as possible into development pipelines. But the work is never finished.<\/p>\n

Shift left and similar strategies are generally good things. They begin to address a long-overdue problem of treating security as a checkbox or a final step before deployment. But in many cases is still not quite enough for the realities of running modern software applications. The shift left approach might only cover the build and deploy phases, for example, but not apply enough security focus to another critical phase for today’s workloads: runtime.<\/p>\n

Runtime security “is about securing the environment in which an application is running and the application itself when the code is being executed,” said Yugal Joshi<\/a>, partner at the technology research firm Everest Group.<\/p>\n

The emerging class of tools and practices for security aim to address three essential security challenges in the age of containerized workloads, Kubernetes,<\/a> and heavily automated CI\/CD pipelines,<\/a> according to Utpal Bhatt,<\/a> CMO at Tigera,<\/a> a security platform company.<\/p>\n

First, the speed and automation intrinsic to modern software development pipelines create more threat vectors and opportunities for vulnerabilities to enter a codebase.<\/p>\n

Second, the orchestration layer itself, like Kubernetes, also heavily automates the deployment of container images and introduces new risks.<\/p>\n

Third, the dynamic nature of running container-based workloads, especially when those workloads are decomposed into hundreds or thousands of microservices that might be talking to one another, creates a very large and ever-changing attack surface.<\/a><\/p>\n

“The threat vectors increase with these types of applications,” Bhatt told The New Stack. “It’s virtually impossible to eliminate these threats when focusing on just one part of your supply chain.”<\/p>\n

Runtime Security: Prevention First<\/h2>\n
Runtime security might sound like a super-specific requirement or approach, but Bhatt and other experts note that, done right, holistic approaches to runtime security can bolster the security posture of the entire environment and organization.<\/p>\n
The overarching need for strong runtime security is to shift from a defensive or detection-focused approach to a prevention-focused approach.<\/p>\n
“Given the large attack surface of containerized workloads, it’s impossible to scale a detection-centric approach to security,” said Mikheil Kardenakhishvili,<\/a> CEO and co-founder of Techseed, one of Tigera’s partners. “Instead, focusing on prevention will help to reduce attacks and subsequently the burden on security teams.”<\/p>\n
Instead of a purely detection-based approach, one that often burns out security teams<\/a> and puts them in the position of being seen as bottlenecks or inhibitors by the rest of the business, the best runtime security tools and practices, according to Bhatt, implement a prevention-first approach backed by traditional detection response.<\/p>\n
“Runtime security done right means you’re blocking known attacks rather than waiting for them to happen,” Bhatt said.<\/p>\n\n
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