Container Applications

Containers are a form of virtualization technology that allow developers to package applications and their dependencies into a single, portable unit. Unlike traditional virtual machines, which require an entire guest operating system to run, containers share the host system's kernel and isolate applications at the process level. This makes containers lightweight, fast to start, and highly efficient in terms of resource usage. A container typically includes everything needed to run a piece of software, such as code, runtime, system tools, libraries, and settings, ensuring that the application runs consistently across different environments. This consistency is crucial for modern software development, as it eliminates the "it works on my machine" problem, making it easier to deploy applications across various platforms, whether on a developer’s local machine, in a testing environment, or in a production cloud service.

One of the key components in the container ecosystem is Docker, a widely used platform that simplifies the creation, deployment, and management of containers. Docker allows developers to create container images, which are static files containing all the dependencies required to run an application. These images can then be stored in repositories, such as Docker Hub, and pulled down to any system that supports containers. Another major feature of containers is their orchestration, handled by tools like Kubernetes. Kubernetes automates the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications, ensuring that they run reliably even as workloads change or systems scale. Containers have transformed how modern applications are developed and deployed by enhancing scalability, portability, and resource efficiency, which is why they are widely used in microservices architectures and cloud-native applications. We will come back a bit later on how we use kubernetes in our applications.

This previous graph illustrate the way docker works. As we can see, images get downloaded from a distant registry before being build locally and run on the host computer. Anyone can deploy it's own container from any image the user desire before pushing them to the docker registry. The goal is to give any use the opportunity to customize his own docker container and then share it with the rest of the community. This is done through the edition of what is called a dockerfile.

Synk uses this technology to provide users with customs containers. Theses containers have been edited to match the hardening specifications of the NIST. The NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) hardening specification for containers provides guidelines and best practices to enhance the security of containerized environments. It focuses on minimizing vulnerabilities by securing container images, enforcing least privilege, and controlling access to container resources. The specification also emphasizes monitoring, auditing, and ensuring the integrity of both the container host and the container runtime. These recommendations help organizations maintain secure, compliant, and resilient container infrastructures.

At SYNK, we have implemented network isolation between all containers to ensure enhanced security and minimize the risk of cross-container interference. This isolation is crucial for maintaining strict boundaries between various microservices, especially when dealing with sensitive data or different levels of trust within the system.

By separating the network layers, we reduce the attack surface, ensuring that if one container is compromised, it doesn't automatically compromise the entire system. Additionally, this setup allows for more precise control over traffic flow, enabling us to enforce strict firewall rules and limit communication to only what's necessary. This also helps in improving performance by avoiding unnecessary network chatter between containers. With this approach, we can scale services confidently, knowing that each container operates in a securely isolated environment. Ultimately, this network isolation adds a critical layer of protection to our infrastructure, bolstering both security and

For instance, in a web application, we would only allow outgoing traffic on the port 443. Because none of the traffic going out should be anything else than web traffic, it is more secure and more efficient to limit the outgoing traffic.