Applications that have been implemented with containers are all around us in the digital age. Containers within apps are present in public spaces where there’s Wifi, in your online banking system, and even in the apps and games that you have on your smartphone.
In essence, container security helps to keep your business data protected. This post takes you through a more detailed look into what container security is and why it matters to your business.
Container Security Explained
Containers are used as a means of taking code from an application to ensure that it’s able to function smoothly when it comes to computing. As a result, businesses can use containers to make their applications more easily portable which means that developers can collaborate with less hassle.
They can build and test the runtime and language of an application before sending it off to someone else. Containers let you have the application isolated to move between several different machines which free up developers to carry out more tests and fix issues.
Container Images
Container images are the files within your system that contain the app. Typically, there’s a base image that works as the foundation of a container. Therefore, businesses must ensure this part of their application has been patched correctly to increase container security for your application as a whole.
It may also be a good idea to get into the habit of carrying out vulnerability checks before you launch your foundational images. This can be a productive way to help you remove potentially malicious elements in the code to prevent the rest of the application from being jeopardized.
Container Registries
The images for containers are stored within the registries. Container images can be taken from archives that are public or private and since the images are the foundation of your containers, you’ll want to keep them patched and secure inside the registries.
Container Runtimes
Runtimes are the aspect that enables your container to perform the functions that you created it to do. There are several types of runtimes available within containers that have varying levels of security.
How Container Security Impacts Your Business
Having containers benefits your business by allowing you to easily see areas where new vulnerabilities have popped up. Due to the way that containers are stored, you can have an easy time when it comes to retrieving a container to see what the vulnerability is.
When you’ve deployed images, container security lets you simply check through the registry to locate the vulnerability to carry out patches instead of having to do specified scans. Therefore, containers make the patching process much easier to identify and fix.
Google has implemented containers successfully to manage their data more securely and many other businesses have done the same after seeing how effective it can be. During times of security patches or incidents that you didn’t anticipate, you can rely on containers to patch as you go along.
Businesses can also benefit from containers in times where extensive security patches need to be carried out. You can implement live migration to transfer new data next to the existing data and move it all over to the new platform until all of the data has been successfully moved.
It’s an effective way for businesses to run large patches without dealing with the negative aspect of taking downtime. These patching processes can also be easily automated to save you time while ensuring that your containers are more secure.
Tips For Achieving Container Security
Be sure to always be monitoring the ecosystem of your container to quickly identify any breaches in security. To help with identifying your image integrity when monitoring for security breaches, you can use the container elements that are already built-into the system.
Some businesses like to use security tools that are provided by a third-party. This can be another effective way to ensure that your containers are constantly being monitored and that you’re being flagged right away to fix problems before they get too big.
Running Multiple Containers
When it comes to using several containers, this is where orchestration platforms come into play and Kubernetes is a popular option. This process that’s flexible and integrates the use of extension points to be used with various systems which is great for using it over and over again for different situations.
Kubernetes provides you with an open-source platform that’s also portable which can make it more manageable for businesses to use regularly.
Why Do Containers Come Under Attack?
One of the main reasons why containers come under attack is because people want to have access to your computing resources. This is common when it comes to mining in cryptocurrency.
Another reason why containers are attacked is that there is often a lot of customer data that attackers want to use for their own benefit.
Downsides To Container Security
While container security means that you’re able to deploy and detect vulnerabilities quicker, it can also lead to failures in the data happening at a faster pace. This is mostly because a lot of your important data is being placed into a container where one slip up can cause a whole host of problems for your application.
The upside to this is that you can detect vulnerabilities and attacks quicker to prevent hackers from gaining information through your data.
Conclusion
Using container security is a way for businesses to constantly maintain and patch their containers to prevent attacks and leaving themselves exposed to vulnerabilities. This helps to identify and reduce malicious activity within applications, while also ensuring that the foundation for your applications is running more smoothly.
If you’re serious about ensuring your data security has longevity with minimal downtime, you’ll want to consider implementing container security if you haven’t already.
It’s also best to be mindful that containers aren’t the end all be all to solving all your cloud security problems. However, when container security is implemented correctly, it can make processes more automated and minimize downtime when it comes to finding and eliminating vulnerabilities.
Photo by Philipp Katzenberger on Unsplash
