Pod Security Policies
Pod Security Policies (PSPs) are a Kubernetes cluster-level resource that control security-sensitive aspects of pod specification, such as privileged containers, host namespace access, and volume types. They enforce security policies by validating and mutating pod creation requests based on defined rules, helping to prevent insecure configurations. PSPs are part of Kubernetes' built-in Pod Security Standards framework for securing workloads.
Developers should learn PSPs when deploying applications in Kubernetes to enforce security best practices and compliance requirements, such as preventing containers from running as root or accessing host resources. They are crucial in multi-tenant or production environments to mitigate risks like privilege escalation and data breaches. However, note that PSPs are deprecated in Kubernetes v1.21+ and replaced by Pod Security Admission, so understanding the transition is important.