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This module dives into the core components and best practices for strengthening the security posture of your AKS cluster.
  1. Azure Networking Fundamentals
    • Design and configure Virtual Networks (VNets), subnets, and Network Security Groups (NSGs)
    • Leverage private clusters and service endpoints to isolate AKS control plane and workloads
  2. AKS Networking Modes
    • Kubernetes’ built-in kube-proxy with basic networking
    • Azure Container Networking Interface (CNI) for advanced IP management and VNet integration
  3. Network Policies
    • Apply Calico or Azure-native policies for granular pod-to-pod and namespace traffic control
    • Enforce egress and ingress rules to limit attack surfaces
  4. Service Mesh Integration
    • Implement Istio or Open Service Mesh (OSM)
    • Gain mutual TLS, traffic encryption, observability, and policy enforcement
  5. Identity and Access Management (IAM)
    • Integrate Azure Active Directory (AAD) for user and service principal authentication
    • Define Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for least-privilege permissions
    • Secure the Kubernetes API with Azure Private Link and Managed Identities
  6. Azure Defender for Containers
    • Enable threat protection to detect anomalous behavior and suspicious activity
    • Monitor vulnerabilities in container images and running workloads via Microsoft Defender
  7. Azure Policy for AKS Governance
    • Enforce compliance rules on resource configurations, container image sources, and network settings
    • Implement policy initiatives for audit, deny, or append actions on non-conforming resources
CI/CD pipelines for AKS will be covered in the upcoming module. Plan your DevSecOps workflows to automate security checks and deployments.

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