Kubernetes Security Training in Kraków, Poland

This intensive instructor-led course provides participants with a practical and hands-on understanding of securing Kubernetes clusters, workloads, and cloud environments. The program focuses on real-world attack scenarios, defense strategies, and the application of Kubernetes-native security features.

Participants learn how attackers compromise Kubernetes, how to design and enforce security controls, and how to use open-source tools and built-in Kubernetes capabilities to protect clusters. Through demonstrations and optional labs, learners will gain the confidence to secure production-grade Kubernetes environments end to end.

Core Concepts, Threats, and Access Controls

1. Introduction to Kubernetes Security

• Kubernetes architecture (brief)
• Shared responsibility model
• Kubernetes attack surface overview

2. Kubernetes API & Key Security Features

• API Server security fundamentals
• Certificates, TLS, service accounts
• Built-in security scaffolding (RBAC, Pod Security Standards, NetworkPolicies)

Hands-on Practical Exercises

3. Threat Modeling: How Clusters Get Hacked

• How attackers find exposed APIs and etcd
• Code execution inside containers
• Privilege escalation patterns
• Case Study

4. Access Control: Authentication & Authorization

• Users, service accounts
• Authentication: certificates, tokens, OIDC
• RBAC essentials (Roles, RoleBindings, ClusterRoles)
• Admission control basics
• Hands-on Practical Exercises

5. Managing Secrets & Credentials

• Kubernetes Secrets basics
• Secret creation, mounting, and rotation
• Best practices: external secret stores & KMS integration
• Protecting credentials within containers

6. Securing API & Node Access

• TLS enforcement
• Hardening kubelet
• Limiting external access to API and etcd
• Disabling insecure features

7. Workload Hardening Foundations

• Pod Security Standards (replaces PSP)
• Resource limits
• Privilege restriction (capabilities, root control, seccomp)
• NetworkPolicies introduction

Hands-On Practical Exercises

Hardening, Workload Security, Cloud Access & Monitoring

8. Securing Workloads in Practice

• Applying Pod Security Standards
• Node isolation strategies
• Limiting container privileges (seccomp/AppArmor)
• Restricting network communication with NetworkPolicies

9. Securing Container Images & Supply Chain

• Image best practices
• Vulnerability scanning
• Image signing & trust (Cosign, Notary—overview)
• Registry access control
• Hands-on Practical Exercises

10. Protecting Cluster Components

• Securing etcd access
• Token and credential rotation
• Evaluation of third-party components (operators, controllers)
• Limiting permissions of add-ons & third-party software

11. Access to Cloud Provider Resources

• Metadata service risks
• IAM roles for service accounts (IRSA / workload identity)
• Least-privilege cloud permissions for Kubernetes workloads

12. Encrypting Data at Rest

• Encryption of Secrets in etcd
• Storage-level encryption (EBS, PD, Azure Disk)
• Backup encryption strategy
• Hands-on Practical Exercises

13. Monitoring & Auditing for Security

• Kubernetes audit logs
• Logging best practices
• Supply chain audit considerations
• Subscribing to CVEs, updates, and security bulletins

14. Establishing an Organizational Security Policy

• Security posture review
• Building a Kubernetes security model
• Cloud-native security best practices checklist
• Summary & final recommendations
• Hands-on Practical Exercises