How can an organization ensure only specific images are used for GKE deployments?

Implementing a Binary Authorization policy with a specific whitelist is the most effective way for an organization to ensure that only approved container images are used for Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) deployments. Binary Authorization is a deploy-time security control that allows teams to define what images are allowed to be deployed based on a configured policy. By establishing a whitelist of trusted images, the organization can automatically block any deployment attempts that do not conform to this policy, thereby minimizing the risk of deploying vulnerable or malicious images.

This approach enhances security and compliance by allowing only vetted and tested images into the production environment, which is critical for maintaining the integrity of cloud-native applications. The enforcement mechanism of Binary Authorization helps to automate the image approval process and integrates seamlessly with existing CI/CD pipelines, ensuring that security measures are consistently applied across all deployments.

Options such as creating a custom builder for image management, adding logic to deployment pipelines, or tagging images provide additional layers of control but do not offer the same level of enforceability as Binary Authorization. Custom builders could facilitate image processing but wouldn't inherently restrict deployment to only approved images. Similarly, deployment pipeline logic could help check images, but it might not provide a robust enforcement mechanism. Finally, tagging images and checking for presence can assist in managing image versions