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kikisdeliveryservice
Title
Support for Cloud Native Confidential Computing: Integrity Measurement and Attestation Services
Authors
Wenhui Zhang wenhuizhang.psu@gmail.com
Owning SIG
SIG-Security SIG-Node Participating SIGs SIG-Cloud Provider SIG-Network SIG-Auth
Status
Draft (2024-03-11) Targeted Release: [Kubernetes Version TBD]
Summary
This KEP proposes the introduction of Cloud Native Confidential Computing support in Kubernetes, focusing on two main aspects: Integrity Measurement at Boot Time and Attestation (covering both Secure Boot and Remote Attestation). The proposal includes the addition of two new services: the Trusted Container Loader and the Secure Cluster/POD Service. These enhancements aim to provide stronger security guarantees for containerized workloads, enabling a more robust cloud-native infrastructure.
Motivation
With the increasing adoption of cloud-native technologies, the need for enhanced security mechanisms that protect sensitive data and computation at every layer of the cloud stack has become paramount. Confidential computing addresses this need by providing hardware-based isolation and encryption. However, Kubernetes lacks native support for key features of confidential computing, such as secure boot, remote attestation, and integrity measurement. This proposal seeks to fill these gaps, thereby enhancing the security posture of Kubernetes clusters.
Proposal
Trusted Container Loader
The Trusted Container Loader service will be responsible for securely loading container images into the enclave environments. It will ensure that only trusted and verified images are executed, leveraging integrity measurement at boot time to validate the container's integrity.
Secure Cluster/POD Service
The Secure Cluster/POD Service will manage the lifecycle of secure enclaves and their communication within the Kubernetes cluster. It will provide APIs for attestation, enabling both secure boot verification and remote attestation to ensure that the execution environment is secure and has not been tampered with.
Design
Integrity Measurement at Boot Time
This feature will measure and verify the integrity of the execution environment and the container workload at boot time. It ensures that the environment and the container have not been tampered with or modified maliciously.
Attestation
Attestation will provide mechanisms for both secure boot verification and remote attestation:
Secure Boot Verification: Ensures that the Kubernetes node and the container runtime have booted with verified and trusted firmware and software.
Remote Attestation: Allows external entities to verify the integrity and trustworthiness of the node and container environments, ensuring that they are running in a secure and unmodified state.
Testing
Comprehensive testing strategies, including unit, integration, and e2e tests, will be developed to ensure the reliability and security of the proposed features.
Graduation Criteria
Alpha: Initial implementation of the Trusted Container Loader and Secure Cluster/POD Service, available for early feedback.
Beta: Full functionality with improved security analysis, community feedback addressed, and broader testing coverage.
Stable: Proven scalability, performance, and security guarantees, with widespread adoption and positive community feedback.
Risks and Mitigations
Compatibility: Ensuring compatibility with existing Kubernetes deployments and workloads. Mitigation includes thorough testing and providing configuration options for gradual adoption.
Performance: Potential performance overhead introduced by security measures. Mitigation includes optimizing the implementation and providing tunable parameters for trade-offs between security and performance.
Documentation
Comprehensive documentation will be provided, covering the setup, configuration, and usage of the new features, along with best practices for secure deployment.
Drawbacks
The main drawback is the potential increase in complexity and overhead for cluster management. However, the security benefits and alignment with confidential computing principles justify the effort.
Why is this needed?
With the increasing adoption of cloud-native technologies, the need for enhanced security mechanisms that protect sensitive data and computation at every layer of the cloud stack has become paramount. Confidential computing addresses this need by providing hardware-based isolation and encryption. However, Kubernetes lacks native support for key features of confidential computing, such as secure boot, remote attestation, and integrity measurement. This proposal seeks to fill these gaps, thereby enhancing the security posture of Kubernetes clusters.