Container Access Policy Generation for Minimal Cloud Service Rights
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cloud service access management systems face challenges in providing granular access control for containers, leading to security risks and inefficiencies due to overly permissive access rules, especially when multiple heterogeneous processes are hosted on a single compute instance, which complicates credential management and scales poorly with complex workloads.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a request forwarder component to mediate container requests, combining internal authentication with cloud service authentication to verify access, and automatically infers minimal required access needs through integration tests and policy generation, ensuring secure isolation and efficient resource utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If all containers are granted the same level of access to cloud infrastructure, then connectivity and ease of operation are improved, but security is worsened due to overly permissive rules
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments access control by introducing compute instance-level credentials that are distinct from container-level credentials. Each compute instance receives its own credential from the cloud service provider, allowing granular access control at the instance level rather than requiring individual container credentials. This segmentation enables secure multi-tenant deployments where multiple containers on the same instance share instance-level access without exposing individual container identities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a credential intermediary mechanism where the compute instance acts as an intermediary between containers and cloud services. Instead of containers directly presenting their own credentials to cloud services, the compute instance uses its own credential to authenticate with cloud services on behalf of containers. This intermediary approach simplifies credential management while maintaining security boundaries.
2Measurement precision
If individual container credentials are managed separately, then access control precision is improved, but device complexity and operational overhead are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges container identity management with compute instance identity management. Instead of maintaining separate credential systems for containers and compute instances, the system combines them by having the compute instance hold and manage credentials that represent both the instance itself and the containers running on it. This merging reduces credential management complexity while preserving the ability to control access at the container level through instance-level policies.
Solution Approach 2:
The compute instance credential serves multiple functions: it authenticates the compute instance with cloud services, represents all containers running on the instance, and enables the instance to act as a security boundary. This multi-functionality reduces the number of credentials that need to be managed individually while maintaining comprehensive access control capabilities.
3Reliability
If compute instances are configured to prevent container access to metadata service, then security is improved by preventing credential misuse, but ease of operation is worsened due to restricted access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the credential retrieval function from direct container access to the metadata service and relocates it to the compute instance level. Containers cannot directly access the metadata service to obtain credentials; instead, the compute instance retrieves and holds the credentials, making them available to containers through controlled interfaces. This extraction maintains security by preventing unauthorized metadata service access while still enabling necessary credential retrieval.
Data Source
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AI summary
A computer system receives one or more requests for access to one or more cloud services (228, 230, 232) and stores the one or more requests in a request log (216). The computer system receives one or more access rules (218) applicable to cloud service access rights. The computer system aggregates the one or more requests of the request log to determine access requirements for a container (206, 208, 210), the container being configured to store one or more applications. The computer system generates and stores container access policies (222) that define access of a container and the one or more cloud services, the container access policies based at least in part on the aggregated one or more requests and the one or more access rules. The computer system sends the container access policies (222) to a request forwarder (274) of a compute instance in a production environment (252).