"Kubernetes networking is highly flexible but this flexibility can introduce security risks because all pods can communicate with each other by default. Cilium addresses these challenges by providing a modern, high-performance solution for Kubernetes networking that combines security, observability and performance using eBPF. Cilium is an open-source networking and security solution designed for cloud-native environments. It provides high-performance pod-to-pod networking utilizing eBPF and allows identity-aware network policies at the API level, enforcing fine grained controls."
"In addition, Cilium provides real time visibility into network flows through Hubble along with Layer 3 to 7 service routing and monitoring for Kubernetes workloads. Cilium is particularly useful in scenarios that require fine-grained network security between pods, high-performance networking, traffic observability for auditing or debugging, and a zero-trust security model enabled by mTLS. mTLS Security in Cilium In Kubernetes environments, ensuring secure communication between microservices is paramount."
"Traditional service meshes often rely on sidecar proxies to manage mutual TLS (mTLS) authentication. However, this approach introduces additional complexity and potential performance overhead. Cilium leveraging eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter), offers a sidecar-free mTLS solution streamlining the process and enhancing security. In conventional setups, sidecar proxies handle the mTLS handshake and encryption. While effective, this method can lead to several issues as the additional network hop introduced by sidecars can degrade performance and managing and configuring sidecar proxies across numerous services increases operational complexity."
Cilium uses eBPF to deliver high-performance pod-to-pod networking and enforces identity-aware network policies at the API level for fine-grained control. Built-in mTLS provides mutual authentication and encryption between pods without requiring sidecar proxies, reducing latency and operational complexity. Hubble supplies real-time visibility into network flows, and Cilium supports Layer 3–7 service routing and monitoring for Kubernetes workloads. The sidecar-free mTLS implementation integrates into the data plane to avoid additional network hops and performance overhead associated with proxy-based meshes. Cilium suits use cases requiring strong pod-level security, traffic observability for auditing or debugging, and zero-trust models.
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