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This guide details how to implement Kubernetes Pod Security Standards (PSS) using the Pod Security Admission (PSA) controller. PSS defines three mandatory security levels—Privileged, Baseline, and Restricted—for container workloads. It is essential for enhancing security posture, ensuring compliance, and migrating away from deprecated PodSecurityPolicy (PSP) controls by applying namespace labels and defining compliant pod specifications.

OPA Gatekeeper is a powerful Kubernetes admission controller that enforces policies using Rego rules. It utilizes ConstraintTemplates and Constraints to validate, mutate, or deny API requests at the cluster admission stage. This tool is essential for implementing policy-as-code practices, ensuring that Kubernetes deployments adhere to organizational security standards, compliance requirements, and best practices, such as mandating labels or blocking privileged containers.

Pod Security Admission (PSA) is a built-in Kubernetes admission controller designed to enforce Pod Security Standards (Baseline, Restricted, Privileged) at the namespace level. It serves as a crucial replacement for the deprecated PodSecurityPolicy (PSP), allowing users to implement robust security controls and maintain compliance. By applying specific labels, administrators can set enforcement modes (enforce, audit, warn) to harden container environments against unauthorized privilege escalation and security risks.