From virtual to cloud to microservices – 10 tips from a security perspectiveSergio Loureiro, PhDCEO, Founder at SecludITsergio@secludit.comhttps://secludit.com

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New technology equals New security risks

• Security is an after thought: Embrace change and get over it!

• Virtual and Cloud are mastered, right?

• Virtualization issues vs isolation: Example VENOM

• Cloud Security Alliance Nefarious 12

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New use case: Shared responsibility

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Case Study: AWS virtual machines security

• 22% of AMIs had private keys

• 98% of Windows had known vulnerabilities

• 2 VMs compromised in less of 1 hour

• NEW: data not erased securely

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The new kid on the block: Microservices• Applications are composed of small, independent components• Drop-in and highly decoupled blocks• Components communicate with each other using APIs• Drop-in Services are easy to replace• Developer-friendly• Nothing new -> A.K.A. SOA (Service Oriented Architecture)• Recently gained popularity thanks to REST APIs

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Why Docker?• Simplifies packaging and deployment• Guarantees portability, flexibility, isolation (?)• Minimal requirements• Ideal for building microservice-based architectures

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Containers to scale in the Cloud – Automation!

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What about Container Security?• Are containers really isolated?• Are images safe?• How can we know if a container is vulnerable?• How can we assess the security of our microservice ecosystem?

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Top 10 tips: back to the basics in 3 steps (1/3)• UNDERSTAND and PLAN

1. Audit Regularly your infrastructure, test like you test your code2. Keep it simple… (KISS) -> containers are a good step to simplify3. Understand and test attack surface of each technology

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Top 10 tips: back to the basics in 3 steps (2/3)TEST and CORRECT: Operations

4. Run trusted (=tested) containers5. Automate everything to avoid manual errors and cost reduction, use

APIs, no agents6. Perform often vulnerability assessment7. Use tools that cope with bare metal, virtual, cloud and containers (legacy

in not going to disappear)8. Patch and Remediate rapidly or replace containers with updated versions

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Top 10 tips: back to the basics in 3 steps (3/3)REPORT and SHOW

9. Monitor KPIs and risk, not logs and vulnerabilities -> actionable data

10. Keep C-level informed, your budget depends on that for the next new technology

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NEW: Elastic Vulnerability Assessment for Containers• Portability of containers to improve Vulnerability Assessment

CLONE

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Further Reading• CIS Docker Benchmark

• https://docs.docker.com/engine/security/security/

• Tools: Seccomp and AppArmor

• Docker Capabilities

• https://opensource.com/business/14/7/docker-security-selinux

• https://elastic-security.com/2016/04/11/docker-best-security-practices/

THANK YOU!sergio@secludit.comhttp://secludit.com

@SecludIT