Cloud-Native Defense-in-Depth Security for Mission-Critical Services in Managed Kubernetes

Karthikeyan Thirumalaisamy

Abstract: Kubernetes serves as the standard deployment tool for cloud-native applications that include mission-critical services across industries such as finance, healthcare, defense, and more. When many organizations start using Kubernetes especially through managed services like AKS, EKS, and GKE which brings additional security challenges that need to be carefully addressed. This paper presents a secure architecture for managed Kubernetes systems which implements defense-in-depth methodology based on the cloud-native security 4C's: Cloud, Cluster, Container, and Code. The paper analyzes each component of managed Kubernetes systems to demonstrate how cloud-native security mechanisms combine to protect against insider threats and software supply chain attacks and escape runtime exploits through cloud-level policy enforcement and cluster hardening and secure containerization and secure development practices. The paper proposes a security architecture delivers operational security controls through admission controllers and role-based access controls (RBAC) and seccomp and runtime detection tools and secure image registries by utilizing AKS, EKS and GKE cloud-native features and integrations. The paper includes concrete execution examples demonstrating how a defense-in-depth security architecture built on Kubernetes technology implements comprehensive security measures at each layer, ensuring robust protection without slowing down development speed or reducing operational capabilities.

Keywords: Kubernetes, Supply chain, Cloud-Native architecture, Defense in depth, zero trust architecture

How to Cite?: Karthikeyan Thirumalaisamy, "Cloud-Native Defense-in-Depth Security for Mission-Critical Services in Managed Kubernetes", Volume 14 Issue 8, August 2025, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 669-678, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR25812221601, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR25812221601