Microservice Certificate Issuance in Elastic Clouds
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In elastic cloud environments, existing SSL-based secure communication methods are inadequate due to the dynamic spawning and destruction of containers, which is not designed for, and the risk of private key exposure leading to security vulnerabilities.
Innovation Solution
A method where a microservice receives a one-time authentication credential to obtain a client secret, constructs a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) with embedded attributes, and requests a vetted certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA) using an access token, ensuring secure certificate issuance without exposing private keys.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If SSL certificates are used for secure communication in containerized environments, then security is improved, but the system becomes incompatible with elastic cloud environments where containers are dynamically spawned and destroyed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic certificate management where certificates are automatically provisioned, validated, and revoked based on container lifecycle events. The certificate authority dynamically issues certificates to containers as they are spawned and automatically revokes them when containers are destroyed, making the security system adaptable to elastic cloud environments rather than static as traditional SSL was designed
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service certificate provisioning where containers automatically obtain their own certificates through embedded validation logic. The validation service automatically verifies container identities and issues certificates without human intervention, and automatically revokes certificates when containers are terminated, eliminating the need for manual certificate management in dynamic environments
2Ease of operation
If private keys are baked into container images for SSL authentication, then authentication is simplified, but security is compromised due to easy key exposure and leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts private keys from container images and manages them externally through a certificate authority service. Instead of embedding keys in immutable container images, the system generates key pairs dynamically, stores private keys securely outside containers, and provides them only when needed for authentication, preventing key exposure through image distribution
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a certificate authority as an intermediary between containers and the authentication system. The CA service manages key generation, certificate issuance, and validation, acting as a secure mediator that eliminates the need to bake keys into container images while maintaining simplified authentication through automatic certificate validation
3Extent of automation
If traditional SSL certificate validation is used in automated cloud deployments, then deployment automation is maintained, but security validation fails due to absence of human credentials for verification
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service identity validation where containers present their identities through embedded validation logic that automatically verifies their legitimacy. The validation service autonomously performs security checks and issues certificates without requiring human operator credentials, maintaining full deployment automation while ensuring security validation through programmatic identity verification
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual human credential verification with automated programmatic validation. Instead of requiring human operators to manually verify container identities and issue certificates, the system uses automated validation services that programmatically verify container identities through embedded validation logic and automatically issue certificates, substituting mechanical human operations with automated digital processes
Data Source
AI summary
A method and is provided for obtaining a vetted certificate for a microservice in an elastic cloud environment. The microservice receives a one-time authentication credential. The microservice utilizes the one-time authentication credential to obtain a client secret. The microservice obtains an access token and CSR (Certificate Signing Request) attributes using the client secret and constructs a CSR utilizing the CSR attributes. The microservice requests a vetted certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA) and includes the access token and the CSR in the request. If the access token and the CSR pass vetting at the CA, the CA sends a vetted certificate to the microservice.