Monitoring and Auditing Network Policies

Monitoring and Auditing Network Policies

Comprehensive monitoring ensures Network Policies provide intended security without disrupting legitimate traffic. Flow logs capture allowed and denied connections, providing audit trails for security analysis. These logs help identify policy violations, detect anomalous traffic patterns, and support incident investigation. Centralized log aggregation enables correlation across the cluster.

Metrics collection provides quantitative insights into Network Policy effectiveness. Prometheus exporters can track policy hit rates, denied connection attempts, and policy processing latencies. High denial rates might indicate overly restrictive policies or potential attacks. Dashboards visualizing these metrics help teams maintain appropriate security postures while ensuring application functionality.

Compliance reporting often requires demonstrating network segmentation effectiveness. Automated tools can analyze Network Policies to verify segmentation between environments, compliance with data flow requirements, and adherence to security standards. Regular policy audits ensure configurations remain aligned with security requirements as applications evolve.