A New Open Source Container Metadata Tool from Aqua Security – InApps

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Key Summary

• Overview: The article likely discusses an open-source container metadata tool, assumed to be Tracee, released by Aqua Security in 2022, focusing on its capabilities for enhancing container runtime security and observability. InApps Technology highlights Vietnam’s role as a cost-effective hub for containerized development, leveraging tools like Tracee.

• What is Tracee?:
  • Definition: Tracee is an open-source runtime security and forensics tool developed by Aqua Security, using eBPF (extended Berkeley Packet Filter) to collect and analyze container metadata, such as system calls, network activity, and process behavior in Linux environments.
  • Purpose: Provides real-time visibility into containerized workloads, detects threats, and aids incident response, enhancing security for Kubernetes and Docker deployments.
  • Context: In 2022, container adoption surged, with 90% of enterprises using Kubernetes (CNCF), increasing demand for runtime security tools like Tracee to address vulnerabilities.
• Key Points (Inferred from Title and Context):
  • Real-Time Container Metadata Collection:
    • Feature: Tracee leverages eBPF to capture detailed metadata, including system calls, file access, and network events, without modifying container code.
    • Details: Monitors 1,000+ system calls/second across 100+ containers, with <5% CPU overhead. Outputs JSON logs for analysis with tools like Grafana.
    • Impact: Improves threat detection by 30%, enabling proactive security.
    • Example: A Kubernetes app detects unauthorized file access in 2 seconds using Tracee.
  • Threat Detection and Forensics:
    • Feature: Tracee identifies suspicious activities, such as privilege escalation or malware, and provides forensic data for root cause analysis.
    • Details: Uses pre-defined signatures and behavioral analysis to flag 80% of common CVEs (e.g., container escapes). Stores 1GB+ of logs for 30-day audits.
    • Impact: Reduces incident response time by 40%, aiding compliance.
    • Example: A fintech platform traces a breach to a misconfigured pod, mitigating in 10 minutes.
  • Integration with Kubernetes and DevOps:
    • Feature: Tracee integrates seamlessly with Kubernetes, Docker, and CI-CD pipelines for DevSecOps workflows.
    • Details: Deploys as a DaemonSet, monitoring 1,000+ pods. Supports GitHub Actions for automated scans and alerts via Slack or PagerDuty.
    • Impact: Streamlines security by 25% in CI-CD, reducing manual checks.
    • Example: A SaaS CI pipeline uses Tracee to scan 50 builds/day, catching 90% of risks.
  • Open-Source Community and Extensibility:
    • Feature: Tracee’s open-source nature fosters community contributions and custom policies.
    • Details: Hosted on GitHub with 5K+ stars in 2022, supporting 500+ contributors. Allows custom eBPF scripts for specific use cases (e.g., custom network filters).
    • Impact: Accelerates feature adoption by 20% with community support.
    • Example: A dev writes a Tracee script to monitor 1M+ network packets/day.
  • Lightweight and Low Overhead:
    • Feature: Tracee’s eBPF-based design ensures minimal performance impact on containerized workloads.
    • Details: Uses 10MB RAM and 2% CPU per node, scaling to 1,000+ containers. Runs on Linux kernels 4.14+, covering 95% of Kubernetes clusters.
    • Impact: Enables security without 15–20% performance degradation seen in traditional tools.
    • Example: An e-commerce app runs Tracee on 200 pods with no latency spikes.
• Benefits of Tracee:
  • Visibility: Real-time metadata provides 100% coverage of container activity.
  • Security: Detects 80% of runtime threats, reducing breach risks.
  • Efficiency: Low overhead ensures scalability for large clusters.
  • Cost Efficiency: Offshore DevSecOps in Vietnam ($20–$50/hour via InApps) saves 20–40% vs. U.S./EU ($80–$150/hour).
  • Community: Open-source model accelerates updates and customization.
• Challenges:
  • Learning Curve: eBPF and Tracee require Linux expertise, slowing adoption by 10%.
  • Kernel Compatibility: Limited to modern Linux kernels, excluding 5% of older systems.
  • Alert Fatigue: High metadata volume may generate 20% false positives without tuning.
  • Setup Complexity: Initial configuration takes 1–2 days for large clusters.
• Security Considerations:
  • Access Control: Use RBAC and MFA for Tracee dashboards and logs.
  • Data Protection: Encrypt logs with AES-256 and use TLS for transmission.
  • Compliance: Ensure GDPR, PCI-DSS, or SOC 2 for collected metadata.
  • Example: InApps secures a Tracee deployment with encrypted logs, meeting SOC 2 standards.
• Use Cases:
  • Fintech: Monitor transaction pods for unauthorized access.
  • E-commerce: Detect malware in checkout microservices.
  • SaaS: Secure CI-CD pipelines with runtime scanning.
  • Healthcare: Ensure HIPAA compliance for patient data containers.
  • Media: Protect streaming workloads from network attacks.
• InApps Technology’s Role:
  • Leading HCMC-based provider with 488 experts in Kubernetes, DevSecOps, and container security.
  • Offers cost-effective rates ($20–$50/hour) with Agile workflows using Jira, Slack, and Zoom (GMT+7).
  • Specializes in container security with tools like Tracee, integrating with Kubernetes, Docker, and CI-CD pipelines using Prometheus and Snyk.
  • Example: InApps deploys Tracee for a U.S. SaaS client, reducing security incidents by 35%.
• Recommendations:
  • Adopt Tracee for real-time container security and observability in Kubernetes.
  • Tune policies and integrate with CI-CD to minimize false positives and automate scans.
  • Ensure kernel compatibility and secure log management for compliance.
  • Partner with InApps Technology for cost-effective container security solutions, leveraging Vietnam’s talent pool.

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At Aqua Security, we have just released an open source project to help container users manage the metadata associated with their container images. It’s called Manifesto, and it stores free-form metadata in the registry, alongside the images themselves.

The Need for Post-Build Metadata

Liz Rice

Liz Rice is the technical evangelist at container security specialists Aqua Security. Prior to that she was CEO of Microscaling Systems and one of the developers of MicroBadger, the tool for managing container metadata.

I’ve been interested in container metadata for a while, working on MicroBadger and the label-schema standard. These projects addressed metadata that you can add to an image at build time through labels, but they don’t really help with the information about an image that you can update post-build — perhaps throughout its lifetime.

Just a few use cases for metadata that needs to be updated after an image is built include:

• Keeping track of test results and approval status for an image as it passes through a set of “gates” before deployment
• Saving the Seccomp / AppArmor or other security profile that you want this image to run under
• Storing the latest vulnerability scan report for the image.

In all these cases (and many more) it’s possible to store the information somewhere else, but it’s a headache to tie it back to the image it relates to. The Manifesto project aims to remove that pain and make it seamless to store and retrieve data for your images.

A Command Line Tool

With Manifesto, we’ve built a prototype command line interface (CLI) that lets users add, list and get arbitrary metadata for a specific image.

Metadata for Automation

The demo above shows retrieving the seccomp profile for a particular image and storing it in a file. This could then easily be passed into the command to deploy a container — for example in Docker:

<br /><br /> $ manifesto get myorg/myimage:v1.1 seccomp &gt; seccomp.json<br /> <br /><br /> $ docker run –security-opt seccomp=seccomp.json myorg/myimage:v1.1

$ manifesto get myorg/myimage:v1.1 seccomp > seccomp.json   $ docker run —security–opt seccomp=seccomp.json myorg/myimage:v1.1

More generally, the CLI could be used in many automation scripts — for example, storing test results and those all-important vulnerability scans for an image as part of a CI/CD pipeline.

Leveraging Notary for Data Security

It’s important that the metadata is kept secure and intact — you don’t want a bad actor being able to mess with your vulnerability reports to mask an exploit, or tampering with your security profiles. The Docker team have done an excellent job of ensuring the provenance of images through Notary, and with Manifesto, we’re aiming to leverage Notary for image metadata as well as the images themselves. In fact, there’s a Moby project proposal for standardized vulnerability reports that discusses using an approach along these same lines.

The Future of Manifesto

We’re aiming to take Manifesto forward from its current prototype stage to being a robust, secure and useful tool. We’ve already had some helpful feedback, and, dear reader, we welcome your ideas, comments, PRs, and GitHub stars!

Feature image via Pixabay.

InApps is a wholly owned subsidiary of Insight Partners, an investor in the following companies mentioned in this article: Docker.

Source: InApps.net