← docsSecurity

/securing-kubernetes-on-cloud

Harden managed Kubernetes clusters on major cloud providers by enforcing pod security, wor.

Harden managed Kubernetes clusters on major cloud providers by enforcing pod security, workload identity, network segmentation, RBAC constraints, image admission controls, and runtime monitoring.

Category

Security

Execution

8 steps, sequential + gated

Goal

Harden managed Kubernetes clusters on major cloud providers by enforcing pod security, workload identity, network segmentation, RBAC constraints, image admission controls, and runtime monitoring.

Scope

Applies to

  • +Secure managed Kubernetes cluster
  • +Harden EKS/AKS/GKE for production
  • +Enforce workload identity and pod security standards

Does not cover

  • −Trivial changes outside the workflow domain

Triggers

"Secure managed Kubernetes cluster""Harden EKS/AKS/GKE for production""Enforce workload identity and pod security standards""Add cloud-native Kubernetes security guardrails"

Inputs

  • →Context: environment/system affected
  • →Scope: change boundary
  • →Constraints: policy or hard rules

Invariants

  • 01Production namespaces require strict pod security posture with staged rollout.
  • 02Static cloud credentials in pods are disallowed when workload identity is available.
  • 03East-west traffic must be segmented by least privilege.
  • 04RBAC access must avoid broad cluster-level grants for non-admin identities.
  • 05Admission controls and runtime monitoring must complement static hardening.

Procedure

  1. Step 1Step 1 — **Security baseline assessment**
  2. Step 2Step 2 — **Enforce pod security standards**
  3. Step 3Step 3 — **Implement workload identity**
  4. Step 4Step 4 — **Segment network traffic**
  5. Step 5Step 5 — **Harden RBAC**
  6. Step 6Step 6 — **Apply image admission controls**
  7. Step 7Step 7 — **Enable runtime monitoring**
  8. Step 8Step 8 — **Validate and operationalize**

Outputs

  • ▸Cluster hardening plan and execution evidence by control area.
  • ▸Namespace security policy and compliance report.
  • ▸Workload identity migration report.
  • ▸Network/RBAC/admission control validation results.
  • ▸Runtime monitoring enablement and alert routing summary.

Review Gate

  • [ ]Pod security policies are applied with staged enforcement and evidence.
  • [ ]Workload identity replaces static cloud credentials in target workloads.
  • [ ]Network and RBAC controls enforce least-privilege boundaries.
  • [ ]Admission controls enforce trusted registry/digest policy.
  • [ ]Runtime monitoring is active with documented triage flow.