Container images often become the first place where vulnerabilities and supply chain issues enter production environments. A disciplined image process helps teams reduce risk without slowing adoption of modern application delivery patterns.
1. Start with a minimal base image
Smaller base images reduce the attack surface and make it easier to reason about what is installed. Teams should remove unnecessary packages and avoid including tooling that is not required at runtime.
2. Scan images before deployment
Vulnerability scanning should happen during the build and again before release. The best setups connect image scan results to admission policies so images with critical issues cannot be deployed automatically.
3. Sign and verify artifacts
Image signing gives you a stronger way to verify that an artifact came from a trusted build. Combined with provenance metadata, this improves visibility across the delivery path and helps secure the software supply chain.