Tweezering Kubernetes Resources: Operating on Operators - Kevin Ward, ControlPlane

Operators have become prevalent for the automation of repeatable cluster operations, replacing engineers in the Kubernetes configuration process. Although removing human error from the equation solves repeatability issues, Operators are often highly privileged with namespace or cluster-wide access to change resources. A compromised operator allows an attacker to deploy custom workloads very discreetly, and a rogue resource could go completely undetected. This talk asks and shows “what’s the worst that could happen?” to Operators by: - showing you how to threat model core Operator functionality - demonstrating how an Operator-based attacker can modify resources and gain persistence - how to securely appraise and test third-party Operators before trusting them - what to look out for during a code review or security related events.