Overview#
Securing container images, runtimes, and orchestration platforms. Involves minimal base images, signed artifacts, namespaces, and runtime controls like seccomp.
Core objectives#
- Establish shared definitions of Container Hardening for security, engineering, and leadership teams.
- Connect Container Hardening activities to measurable risk reduction and resilience goals.
- Provide onboarding notes so new team members can quickly understand how Container Hardening works here.
Implementation notes#
- Identify the primary owner for Container Hardening, the data sources involved, and the systems affected.
- Document the minimum viable process, tooling, and runbooks that keep Container Hardening healthy.
- Map Container Hardening practices to standards such as ISO/IEC 27001, NIST CSF, or CIS Controls.
Operational signals#
- Leading indicators: early warnings that Container Hardening might degrade (e.g., backlog growth, noisy alerts, or missed SLAs).
- Lagging indicators: realized impact that shows Container Hardening failed or needs investment (e.g., incidents, audit findings).
- Feedback loops: retrospectives and metrics reviews that tune Container Hardening continuously.
Related practices#
- Align Container Hardening with defense-in-depth planning, threat modeling, and disaster recovery tests.
- Communicate updates to stakeholders through concise briefs, dashboards, and internal FAQs.
- Pair Container Hardening improvements with tabletop exercises to validate expectations.