# Security in Cloud-Native Services: A Survey
###### Abstract
As a matter of fact, on top of some aspects such as access management [39], data security [40], security monitoring [41], and incident response [42] that are of paramount importance in the context of cloud security, any attempt at establishing security in cloud-native services shall also incorporate:  
* **Container [43] and Microservice [44] Security:** This involves securing the containerized components, such as Docker containers, used in cloud-native applications. It includes measures like vulnerability scanning, secure container image management, and runtime protection to mitigate container-specific risks, such as container escape attacks or compromised container images. Furthermore, security in cloud-native services considers the security of individual microservices and their interactions. This includes securing communication channels between microservices, implementing access controls and authentication mechanisms for inter-service communication, and ensuring proper authorization and data protection between microservices. * **Orchestration Platform Security [45]:** Security considerations extend to the orchestration platforms used in cloud-native environments, such as Kubernetes. This involves securing the Kubernetes control plane, implementing secure configuration practices, and protecting critical components like the etcd data store. It also includes securing container orchestration and deployment processes to prevent unauthorized access or unauthorized changes to deployments. * **DevSecOps Practices [46]:** Security in cloud-native services embraces the integration of security practices throughout the development, deployment, and operations lifecycle. It emphasizes embedding security as an integral part of the development process and implementing security automation, Continuous Security Testing, and security monitoring as part of the DevSecOps approach. Table 1 encapsulates the gaps in contemporary surveys that motivated us to construct this work. After extensive research, we were able to identify only a single work [47] that covers areas similar to the ones that are being explored in the context of this survey. That work, however, did not go into much detail regarding aspects that are of paramount importance in the context of securing cloud-native services such as DevSecOps Practices and Orchestration Platform Security. We, instead, chose to dedicate a quite significant portion of this survey to exploring key features and solutions that relate to these aspects. Furthermore, our work is based on a unique structure of exploratory analysis that maps the key aspects of security in cloud-native services to the corresponding features, and these features to numerous contemporary solutions. Figure 1 illustrates this mapping process that constitutes the core of this work. This work commences by presenting the key aspects of cybersecurity in cloud-native service. Then, we identify and explore the challenges and features, as well as map the latter with the aforementioned aspects. The rest of this work is dedicated to exploring in great detail a plethora of contemporary solutions when leveraged are capable of manifesting them. This exploration includes several prominent enabling technologies, as well as a detailed analysis of how these technologies can be combined alongside others in order to establish autonomic and cognitive security management. Furthermore, it also includes various solutions that correspond to the secure software development lifecycle paradigm. Moreover, for each of these solutions, we identify various candidate open-source technologies that are capable of supporting the realization of the corresponding solution. Finally, this work concludes by mapping the explored solutions to the aforementioned features and presenting how these solutions can work together in order to establish each corresponding feature. Thus, the main scientific contributions of this work are:  
* It is the first survey that is dedicated to exploring security in cloud-native services.