What is Zero Trust networking in Kubernetes?

Zero Trust networking is a security model that assumes no implicit trust. In Kubernetes, this means implementing default deny network policies that block all traffic, then explicitly allowing only necessary communication between pods. B2ALABS SMART GATEWAY uses network policies to ensure only authorized services can communicate.

Why is RBAC important for Kubernetes security?

RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) implements the principle of least privilege by ensuring each service account has only the minimal permissions needed. This limits the blast radius of a potential security breach. B2ALABS SMART GATEWAY uses dedicated service accounts with restricted permissions for gateway, web platform, and observability components.

How does secrets encryption at rest work?

Secrets encryption at rest encrypts all Kubernetes secrets in etcd using AES-CBC or cloud provider KMS. This ensures that even if someone gains access to the etcd database, they cannot read secret values without the encryption key. B2ALABS SMART GATEWAY supports both AES-CBC and cloud provider KMS (AWS KMS, GCP Cloud KMS, Azure Key Vault).

How long does it take to implement security hardening?

Implementing all security hardening measures for B2ALABS SMART GATEWAY takes approximately 45-60 minutes. This includes applying network policies (10 min), configuring RBAC (15 min), enabling Pod Security Standards (10 min), setting up secrets encryption (15 min), and verification testing (10-15 min).

Can I use cloud provider security features?

Yes, B2ALABS SMART GATEWAY is designed to work with cloud provider security features. You can use AWS KMS, GCP Cloud KMS, or Azure Key Vault for secrets encryption. Network policies work with all cloud providers, and you can integrate with cloud-specific security tools like AWS GuardDuty, GCP Security Command Center, or Azure Security Center.

Documentation/Security

Security Hardening Guide

Production-grade security for B2ALABS SMART GATEWAY with Zero Trust networking, RBAC, and Pod Security Standards.

⏱️ 60 minutes•📊 Intermediate to Advanced•🔒 Production-Ready•Last updated: Oct 9, 2025

Platform Security Metrics

Threats Blocked34,185

Detection Rate99.1%

Uptime99.97%

Incidents0

Real-time statistics from B2ALABS production infrastructure

🛡️Security Principles

Zero Trust

Never trust, always verify. Default deny all traffic, explicit allow rules only.

Least Privilege

Minimal permissions necessary. Service accounts with limited RBAC roles.

Defense in Depth

Multiple security layers: network policies, RBAC, Pod Security, encryption.

What You'll Implement

🔒

Network Policies

Zero Trust networking

👤

RBAC

Least privilege access

🛡️

Pod Security

Restricted profile

🔐

Secrets Encryption

At-rest encryption

🔑

Service Accounts

Per-service isolation

📡

Network Segmentation

Pod-to-pod control

Step-by-Step Implementation

🚀 Quick Deploy All Security

Apply all security configurations at once:

kubectl apply -k infrastructure/kubernetes/base/

Step 1: Network Policies

Implement Zero Trust networking with default deny policies:

kubectl apply -f infrastructure/kubernetes/base/network-policy.yaml
kubectl get networkpolicies -n b2alabs

Policies Created:

Default deny all ingress
Default deny all egress
Gateway → PostgreSQL (5432)
Gateway → Redis (6379)
Web → Gateway (8080)
Ingress → Gateway/Web
Prometheus scraping

Step 2: RBAC Configuration

Configure least privilege access control:

kubectl apply -f infrastructure/kubernetes/base/rbac.yaml
kubectl get sa,roles,rolebindings -n b2alabs

Service Accounts:

• gateway-sa (configmaps read, specific secrets only)
• web-platform-sa (configmaps read, specific secrets only)
• observability-sa (cluster-wide metrics read)

Step 3: Pod Security Standards

Apply Restricted security profile:

kubectl apply -f infrastructure/kubernetes/base/pod-security.yaml
kubectl get namespace b2alabs --show-labels

Security Features:

runAsNonRoot: true
allowPrivilegeEscalation: false
capabilities: drop ALL
seccompProfile: RuntimeDefault
readOnlyRootFilesystem (where possible)

Step 4: Secrets Encryption

Enable encryption at rest for all secrets:

# Generate encryption key
head -c 32 /dev/urandom | base64

# Configure on API server
# See docs/SECURITY_HARDENING.md for details

# Encrypt existing secrets
kubectl get secrets --all-namespaces -o json | kubectl replace -f -

Security Verification

# ✓ Network policies active
kubectl get networkpolicies -n b2alabs | wc -l

# ✓ RBAC configured
kubectl get sa,roles -n b2alabs

# ✓ Pods running as non-root
kubectl get pods -n b2alabs -o jsonpath='{.items[*].spec.securityContext.runAsNonRoot}'

Security Testing

# Test network isolation
kubectl run test --rm -it --image=nicolaka/netshoot -n b2alabs -- sh

# Test RBAC
kubectl auth can-i delete secrets --as=system:serviceaccount:b2alabs:gateway-sa

# Run security audit
kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/aquasecurity/kube-bench/main/job.yaml

7-Layer Security Architecture

B2ALABS implements defense-in-depth with multiple layers of security controls. Each layer provides independent protection, ensuring comprehensive security even if one layer is compromised.

Defense in Depth

Multiple independent security layers protecting your AI infrastructure

1. Network Security

2. Authentication & Authorization

3. Input Validation

4. LLM Security

5. Data Protection

6. Monitoring & Detection

7. Incident Response

Layer 1

Active

Network Security

Kubernetes network policies, Zero Trust networking, TLS 1.3 encryption

Layer 2

Active

Authentication & Authorization

JWT-based authentication, RBAC, Cerbos policy engine, MFA support

Layer 3

Active

Input Validation

PII detection, prompt injection firewall, input sanitization, rate limiting

Layer 4

Active

LLM Security

Provider security (OpenAI, Anthropic), context isolation, output validation

Layer 5

Active

Data Protection

AES-256 encryption at rest, automatic PII redaction, data retention policies

Layer 6

Active

Monitoring & Detection

Real-time threat detection, anomaly detection, audit logging, SIEM integration

Layer 7

Active

Incident Response

24/7 monitoring, automated alerting, incident playbooks, security team

OWASP LLM Top 10 Compliance

B2ALABS implements comprehensive protections against all OWASP LLM Top 10 vulnerabilities:

LLM01

Prompt Injection

critical

LLM02

Insecure Output Handling

critical

LLM03

Training Data Poisoning

high

LLM04

Model Denial of Service

high

LLM05

Supply Chain Vulnerabilities

high

LLM06

Sensitive Information Disclosure

critical

LLM07

Insecure Plugin Design

high

LLM08

Excessive Agency

high

LLM09

Overreliance

medium

LLM10

Model Theft

high

View detailed OWASP implementation →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Zero Trust networking?

Zero Trust is a security model assuming no implicit trust. Default deny all traffic, explicitly allow only necessary communication. B2ALABS implements this with network policies.

Why is RBAC important?

RBAC implements least privilege - each service gets only minimal needed permissions. Limits blast radius of security breaches.

What are Pod Security Standards?

Kubernetes policies enforcing secure pod configs. Restricted profile requires non-root users, no privilege escalation, dropped capabilities, seccomp filtering.

How long does security hardening take?

45-60 minutes total. Network policies (10 min), RBAC (15 min), Pod Security (10 min), secrets encryption (15 min), verification (10-15 min).

Platform Security Metrics

🛡️Security Principles

Zero Trust

Least Privilege

Defense in Depth

What You'll Implement

Network Policies

RBAC

Pod Security

Secrets Encryption

Service Accounts

Network Segmentation

Step-by-Step Implementation

Step 1: Network Policies

Step 2: RBAC Configuration

Step 3: Pod Security Standards

Step 4: Secrets Encryption

Security Verification

Security Testing

7-Layer Security Architecture

Defense in Depth

Layer 1

Network Security

Layer 2

Authentication & Authorization

Layer 3

Input Validation

Layer 4

LLM Security

Layer 5

Data Protection

Layer 6

Monitoring & Detection

Layer 7

Incident Response

OWASP LLM Top 10 Compliance

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Documentation

← Kubernetes Deployment

→ Monitoring & Alerts

⚠️Security Disclosure

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