Empowering the Benefits of a Native Kubernetes Integration in Application Security
API Security is a top priority for any organization wanting to protect customer data from malicious attacks. With the rise of Kubernetes as the de facto standard for container orchestration, many security solutions have emerged.
Having a WAF (web application firewall) or WAAP (web application and API protection) solution that is native to Kubernetes offers several benefits that can help organizations more effectively secure their applications. (Here’s another great read on the subject – The Dark Side of Microservices: Are Your Applications Secure)
In the following, we’ll explore why it’s important to choose a security solution that is native to Kubernetes. In addition, these three key advantages that come with this solution are highlighted:
- The ability to inherit Kubernetes advantages,
- Streamlined deployment and policy security, and
- Improved visibility and control over security risks.
1. The ability to inherit Kubernetes advantages
One of the key benefits of choosing a WAAP solution that is native to Kubernetes is having the ability to inherit the advantages of the Kubernetes platform itself. Here are a few examples:
a. Self-healing
Kubernetes has a self-healing mechanism that can automatically recover from certain failures, such as pod crashes or node failures. A native WAAP solution can leverage this self-healing mechanism to ensure your web applications or API services are always up and running, even in the face of unexpected issues.
b. Probes: Liveness and Readiness
Kubernetes also provides probes that can be used to determine if a pod is running correctly (liveness probe) and if it’s ready to receive traffic (readiness probe). A native WAAP solution can take advantage of these probes to ensure your web applications are always available and responsive to incoming requests.
c. Horizontal scaling
Kubernetes allows you to horizontally scale your services by adding or removing pods based on demand. A native WAAP solution can leverage this horizontal scaling capability to ensure your applications can handle sudden spikes in traffic without compromising security.
d. Custom resource definition (CRD)
Kubernetes allows you to define custom resources that can be used to create new types of resources without adding another API server. A native WAAP solution can take advantage of these custom resources to provide security features without any additions and with more granular control over security policies and configurations. Consider role-based access control (RBAC) and its integration within the WAAP management of the security policies, security events, et al. For instance, RBAC allows DevOps and DevSecOps to operate with the WAAP to define and assign administrators’ roles using the namespace per CRD. A native WAAP solution can integrate with RBAC to provide fine-grained access control over security policies and configurations.
2. Streamlined deployment and security policy
Another key advantage of choosing a WAAP solution that is native to Kubernetes is that it streamlines the deployment, allowing you to create and update the security policies based on the lifecycle of the application. It is divided between customers with either a high or low DevOps profile.
a. Low customer “DevOps” maturity – shift right
For customers with low DevOps maturity, a native WAAP solution can help streamline the deployment and management process. By following a classic WAAP deployment model, the solution can be integrated more easily into the existing infrastructure. Additionally, features to help the customer manage false positives with internal, efficient dashboards or use advanced ML management of security events can help address challenges related to application updates.
b. High customer “DevOps” maturity – shift left
For customers with high DevOps maturity, a native WAAP solution can integrate more seamlessly into the CI/CD pipeline. This allows for security assessments to be performed in the early stages of development. This minimizes the risk of vulnerabilities being introduced into production. Additionally — and because the WAAP is native to Kubernetes — all WAAP deployments and configuration files can be managed from a Git integration. This provides multiple advantages, such as the version controlled based on security policies, tracking of changes and automated rollouts and rollbacks between Kubernetes clusters according to the development/deployment lifecycle. The application and security policies can be deployed more easily and adapted without untimely disruption of legitimate traffic in production, and all with greater transparency.
3. Improved visibility and control over security risks
Finally, a native WAAP solution can provide improved visibility and control over security risks.
Here’s an example related to monitoring and dashboard integration:
Customers already taking advantage of a Kubernetes deployment have plenty of dashboards in place to monitor the health and performance of their applications. A native WAAP solution can integrate with these dashboards to provide, in a single pane of glass, security-related metrics and insights. This can help you simplify the system, understand potential security risks and take proactive measures to mitigate them.
Here’s a Solution That Provides Several Key Advantages
Radware’s KWAAP (Kubernetes Web Application Firewall and API Protection) solution provides organizations with several key advantages, including automatic scalability, portability, resilience, resource optimization, agile deployment and infrastructure security. By leveraging the native capabilities of Kubernetes, Radware KWAAP offers customers a powerful security solution that can adapt to their DevOps maturity level and integrate seamlessly with their existing workflows in any microservice application architecture.
Radware KWAAP is not only designed to protect the perimeter network — which is known as north-south traffic and flows from external clients to the application — but also includes a 100% air-gapped solution that can secure communication between microservices, known as east-west traffic.
If you’re looking to enhance the security of your web applications and APIs, you need to learn about Radware’s KWAAP solution. With its native Kubernetes integration and powerful security features, Radware KWAAP will help you achieve the security posture you need to protect your organization’s sensitive data and intellectual property. Whether you’re just starting out on your Kubernetes journey or are a seasoned DevOps professional, KWAAP offers a comprehensive and easy-to-use solution that can help you achieve your security goals.
For more information about Radware’s KWAAP solution, reach out to the security experts at Radware. They have been helping organizations architect and deploy security solutions for years. They would love to hear from you.
If you’ll be attending the RSA Conference in San Francisco on April 24-27, make sure and stop by the Radware booth (#2139). Meet with our team of experts and take your cybersecurity to the next level. Better yet, you can set up an appointment with them here.
