Secret management in container orchestration environments like Kubernetes is a critical concern for the security and operability of modern applications. The Segura platform offers a native and robust solution for secure injection and rotation of secrets and configuration data in Kubernetes clusters. This document aims to explain how this functionality works and how it can be applied in a practical case, such as a fintech that needs to inject database credentials during application deployment.
Injecting Secrets Into Kubernetes With Segura
The Segura platform is designed to facilitate the automated, policy-based delivery of sensitive values—such as passwords, API keys, certificates, and more—directly into Kubernetes clusters. This can be done in three main ways:
- As Kubernetes secrets: The data is handled as Kubernetes Secret objects, which are properly encrypted and managed within the cluster.
- As environment variables: Segura can inject secrets directly into the pods' environment variables, making access more straightforward for running applications.
- As
ConfigMaps: For less sensitive configuration data, the platform can use ConfigMaps, ensuring that updates are reflected without the need for manual intervention.
The main advantage of this approach is to ensure that applications always use the most up-to-date credentials, reducing security risks and human errors.
Use Case: Fintech Using Segura for Credential Injection
A fintech decided to adopt the Segura platform to automate the management of database access credentials during the deployment process of its applications on Kubernetes. Here’s how it works:
- Application deployment: When an application is being deployed, the Segura platform identifies the need to inject secrets, such as database access credentials.
- Automatic injection: Segura then injects these credentials as a Kubernetes secret, which is automatically associated with the application's deployment. This can be done directly in the application's configuration files or through environment variables, depending on the adopted security policy.
- Credential rotation: When database credentials are rotated, whether for security or compliance reasons, the Segura platform updates the secret in the Kubernetes cluster. This update is performed automatically and transparently for the IT team, avoiding service interruptions and the need for manual redeployment of the application.
- Minimizing downtime and human error: By automating these processes, the fintech was able to minimize application downtime and significantly reduce errors associated with manual credential entry.
Conclusion
Using the Segura platform for secret injection and rotation in Kubernetes brings a range of operational and security benefits for companies like the mentioned fintech. Automating secret management processes eliminates bottlenecks, reduces the risk of sensitive data exposure, and allows development and operations teams to focus on strategic tasks instead of manual credential management.