Identity-Based Container Segmentation in Cloud Environments
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing identity management and authentication (IMA) systems struggle to manage and authenticate ephemeral applications and containers, which are challenging due to their lack of persistent identity and ability to store credentials, posing security risks as they become attractive targets for attackers in cloud computing environments.
Innovation Solution
A cloud-based identity management system that assigns strong cryptographic identities to applications or groups of applications, using a credential server to specify resources, groups, and policies, and a handler process to enforce IP firewall rules based on observed IP addresses and group memberships, enabling fine-grained access control and security policy enforcement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional IMA systems are used for container authentication, then existing authentication mechanisms can be leveraged, but containers cannot be properly authenticated due to their ephemeral nature and lack of persistent identity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a credential manager as an intermediary component that bridges traditional IMA systems and ephemeral containers. The credential manager intercepts authentication requests, dynamically generates credentials for containers, and mediates between the container and the authentication system, enabling containers to be authenticated despite their ephemeral nature
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements dynamic credential generation where container identities and credentials are created on-demand rather than being static. The credential manager dynamically assigns credentials to containers at runtime based on security policies, allowing the system to adapt to the ephemeral nature of containers while maintaining authentication reliability
2Ease of operation
If secret management is used for container authentication, then access control can be implemented, but only coarse-grained control is possible due to shared secrets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the shared secret into multiple distinct credentials that are individually assigned to specific containers. Instead of using a single shared secret for all containers, the system creates unique credential pairs for each container, enabling fine-grained access control where each container's permissions can be independently managed and revoked
3Reliability
If identity is assigned through orchestration platform trust chains, then secure identity assignment is achieved, but identity bootstrapping becomes tightly coupled with specific orchestration platforms
Solution Approach 1:
The credential manager is designed as a universal authentication component that can work with multiple orchestration platforms independently. It implements a platform-agnostic credential generation and management system that can authenticate containers from different orchestration platforms (Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, etc.) without being tightly coupled to any specific platform's trust chain mechanism
4Ease of manufacture
If static IP addresses are used for security policy enforcement, then policy implementation is simplified, but the system cannot adapt to dynamic container environments where IP addresses change
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic security policies that are tied to container identities rather than static IP addresses. The credential manager generates credentials that remain consistent with container identities even as IP addresses change, allowing security policies to dynamically adapt to the container's current network location while maintaining the same identity-based access control rules
Data Source
AI summary
In one aspect, a method for defining a group-based policy for access to computing resources by an application/container or a group of application/container, includes the step of with a credential server: specifying a computing resource; specifying a group name and a strong cryptographic identity associated with the group name. The method includes the step of specifying a policy for an application/container belonging to a specific group to access the set of resources belonging to another group. The method includes the step of with a handler process: reading a list of subnets for which authentication is to be enforced. The method includes the step of processing an initiate authentication request with an initiator of a new network connection or initiating a new authentication request with the initiator of the network connection. Upon successful authentication, extracting the group identity of the remote application, checking the group security policy for permitting access, and based on the rule permitting or denying access.