Defending Kubernetes
trilwu/secskills
Harden and monitor a Kubernetes cluster against the attacks that actually happen — RBAC least privilege and escalation paths, Pod Security Admission enforcement, network policy default-deny, secrets…
Plans, configures, and hardens platform-level Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) cluster security.
$ npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-platform-security -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install google/skills gke-platform-security --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/gke-platform-security .claude/skills/gke-platform-security && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "gke-platform-security" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-platform-security into .claude/skills/gke-platform-security/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "gke-platform-security", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-platform-securityType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-platform-security -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install google/skills gke-platform-security --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/gke-platform-security .agents/skills/gke-platform-security && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "gke-platform-security" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-platform-security into .agents/skills/gke-platform-security/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "gke-platform-security", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-platform-security -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install google/skills gke-platform-security --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/gke-platform-security .cursor/skills/gke-platform-security && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "gke-platform-security" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-platform-security into .cursor/skills/gke-platform-security/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "gke-platform-security", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/google/skills.git --path skills/cloud/gke-platform-security--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-platform-security -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install google/skills gke-platform-security --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/gke-platform-security .gemini/skills/gke-platform-security && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "gke-platform-security" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-platform-security into .gemini/skills/gke-platform-security/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "gke-platform-security", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install google/skills gke-platform-securityInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-platform-security -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/gke-platform-security .github/skills/gke-platform-security && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "gke-platform-security" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-platform-security into .github/skills/gke-platform-security/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "gke-platform-security", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-platform-security -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install google/skills gke-platform-security --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/google/skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/cloud/gke-platform-security .opencode/skills/gke-platform-security && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "gke-platform-security" agent skill from https://github.com/google/skills/tree/main/skills/cloud/gke-platform-security into .opencode/skills/gke-platform-security/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "gke-platform-security", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
gke-platform-securityPlans, configures, and hardens platform-level Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) cluster security.
Gke Platform Security is an agent skill from google/skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Plans, configures, and hardens platform-level Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) cluster security. Covers cluster add-ons (Secret Manager enablement), RBAC hardening (disabling insecure bindings, audit tools), Binary Authorization, Secrets Encryption (--database-encryption-key), Security Posture (--security-posture), enabling Shielded Nodes, GKE Sandbox cluster enablement, GKE IAM roles, and cross-service authentication IAM patterns. Use when securing cluster control planes, hardening GKE RBAC, enabling Shielded…
Its SKILL.md is about 2.5k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.
It sits in Backend & APIs, covering Authorization and RBAC. It works with Google Kubernetes Engine and Kubernetes. The repository describes itself as: Agent Skills for Google products and technologies. The licence is Apache-2.0.
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 8a1ac05. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
gcloudFrom the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:
cloud.google.comAlso links to:
docs.cloud.google.comFrom URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Gke Platform Security loads about 2.5k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 205 tokens; SKILL.md has 520 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
The full file from google/skills at commit 8a1ac05, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© google). 520 words, ~2,495 tokens.
.claude/skills/gke-platform-security/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).This reference covers platform-level security hardening and cluster
configuration for Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE). For workload-level security
controls (such as Workload Identity Service Account bindings,
SecretProviderClass volume mounts, Network Policies, and Pod Security
Standards), refer to the gke-workload-security skill.
MCP Tools:
gke:get_cluster,k8s:check_k8s_auth,k8s:get_k8s_resource,k8s:apply_k8s_manifest,gke:update_cluster
| Setting | Golden Path Value | Day-0/1 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
workloadIdentityConfig.workloadPool | <PROJECT>.svc.id.goog | Day-0 | Workload Identity Federation for cluster pods |
secretManagerConfig.enabled | true | Day-1 | Google Secret Manager cluster add-on integration |
secretManagerConfig.rotationConfig | enabled: true, rotationInterval: 120s | Day-1 | Automatic secret rotation at the cluster level |
rbacBindingConfig.enableInsecureBindingSystemAuthenticated | false | Day-0 | Blocks legacy system:authenticated bindings |
rbacBindingConfig.enableInsecureBindingSystemUnauthenticated | false | Day-0 | Blocks legacy system:unauthenticated bindings |
nodeConfig.shieldedInstanceConfig.enableSecureBoot | true | Day-0 | Verifiable boot integrity |
nodeConfig.shieldedInstanceConfig.enableIntegrityMonitoring | true | Day-0 | Runtime integrity checks |
nodeConfig.workloadMetadataConfig.mode | GKE_METADATA | Day-0 | Blocks legacy metadata API, enforces Workload Identity |
| Private cluster + Dataplane V2 settings | See the gke-networking skill | Day-0 | Private nodes, private endpoint enforcement, ADVANCED_DATAPATH |
The golden path enables Secret Manager at the cluster level with automatic secret rotation.
# Verify Secret Manager is enabled on cluster
gcloud container clusters describe <CLUSTER_NAME> --region <REGION> \
--format="value(secretManagerConfig.enabled)" \
--quiet
# Enable if not already (Day-1 change)
gcloud container clusters update <CLUSTER_NAME> --region <REGION> \
--enable-secret-manager \
--secret-manager-rotation-interval=120s \
--quietNote: For configuring
SecretProviderClassmanifests and mounting secrets as volumes inside application deployments, see thegke-workload-securityskill.
The golden path disables insecure legacy RBAC bindings that grant broad access
to system:authenticated and system:unauthenticated groups.
# Verify insecure bindings are disabled
gcloud container clusters describe <CLUSTER_NAME> --region <REGION> \
--format="yaml(rbacBindingConfig)" \
--quietBest practices for RBAC:
system:authenticated
or system:unauthenticated.k8s:check_k8s_auth(parent="...", verb="list", resourceType="pods", namespace="...") (or kubectl auth can-i --list --as=<user>).k8s:get_k8s_resource(parent="...", resourceType="clusterrolebinding") (or kubectl get clusterrolebindings,rolebindings --all-namespaces).See the
gke-multitenancyskill for enterprise RBAC planning and https://docs.cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/best-practices/rbac.md.txt
Not enabled in golden path by default but recommended for enforcing production image provenance across the cluster:
# Enable Binary Authorization
gcloud container clusters update <CLUSTER_NAME> --region <REGION> \
--binauthz-evaluation-mode=PROJECT_SINGLETON_POLICY_ENFORCE \
--quietEnabling verifiable node boot integrity and kernel isolation features at the cluster level:
# Enable Shielded Nodes on an existing cluster
gcloud container clusters update <CLUSTER_NAME> --region <REGION> \
--enable-shielded-nodes \
--quiet
# Enable GKE Sandbox (gVisor) runtime on an existing cluster
gcloud container clusters update <CLUSTER_NAME> --region <REGION> \
--enable-gke-sandbox \
--quietNote: To run workloads inside the gVisor sandbox, specify
runtimeClassName: gvisorin your Pod specs as detailed in thegke-workload-securityskill.
The five most common predefined IAM roles for GKE platform and cluster access:
| Role | Purpose | When to Use |
|---|---|---|
roles/container.admin | Full control over | Platform team admins |
| : : clusters and : managing cluster : | ||
| : : Kubernetes : lifecycle : | ||
| : : resources : : | ||
roles/container.clusterAdmin | Manage clusters but | Cluster operators |
| : : not project-level : who create/delete : | ||
| : : IAM : clusters : | ||
roles/container.developer | Deploy workloads | Application |
| : : (pods, services, : developers deploying : | ||
| : : deployments) : to existing clusters : | ||
roles/container.viewer | Read-only access to | Monitoring, |
| : : clusters and : auditing, or : | ||
| : : Kubernetes : read-only dashboards : | ||
| : : resources : : | ||
roles/container.clusterViewer | List and get | CI/CD pipelines that |
| : : cluster details : need cluster : | ||
| : : only : metadata : |
Principle of least privilege: Start with
roles/container.viewerorroles/container.developerand escalate only as needed. Avoid grantingroles/container.adminbroadly across teams.
service-<PROJECT_NUMBER>@container-engine-robot.iam.gserviceaccount.com):
Automatically created. Manages nodes, networking, and cluster operations on
your behalf. Do not remove or modify its permissions.roles/monitoring.metricWriter,
roles/logging.logWriter) and assign it at node pool creation time.roles/iam.workloadIdentityUser), refer to the
gke-workload-security skill.Common project-level IAM policy binding patterns for granting backend Google Service Accounts (GSAs) access to external Google Cloud services before linking via Workload Identity:
# Grant a GSA access to Cloud Storage objects
gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding <PROJECT_ID> \
--member "serviceAccount:<GSA_NAME>@<PROJECT_ID>.iam.gserviceaccount.com" \
--role "roles/storage.objectViewer" \
--quiet
# Grant a GSA access to Cloud SQL databases
gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding <PROJECT_ID> \
--member "serviceAccount:<GSA_NAME>@<PROJECT_ID>.iam.gserviceaccount.com" \
--role "roles/cloudsql.client" \
--quiet
# Grant a GSA access to Pub/Sub subscriptions
gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding <PROJECT_ID> \
--member "serviceAccount:<GSA_NAME>@<PROJECT_ID>.iam.gserviceaccount.com" \
--role "roles/pubsub.subscriber" \
--quiet
## Resources
- [GKE Cluster Hardening Guide](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/how-to/hardening-your-cluster)
- [GKE RBAC Best Practices](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/best-practices/rbac)
- [Secret Manager Add-on for GKE](https://cloud.google.com/secret-manager/docs/secret-manager-managed-csi-component)
- [Binary Authorization on GKE](https://cloud.google.com/binary-authorization/docs/setting-up)
- [Shielded GKE Nodes](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/how-to/shielded-gke-nodes)
- [GKE Sandbox (gVisor)](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/how-to/sandbox-pods)© google, Apache-2.0. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Just SKILL.md in skills/cloud/gke-platform-security of google/skills.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit 8a1ac05
Gke Platform Security next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gke Platform Security this skillgoogle/skills | 21k | — | ~2.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| Defending Kubernetestrilwu/secskills | 156 | — | ~2.2k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Mirrord Operatoraiskillstore/marketplace | 430 | — | ~4.6k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Securing Kubernetes On Cloudmukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills | 34k | — | ~3.3k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 | |
| K8s Security PoliciesCybereason-Public/owLSM | 280 | 11 repos | ~2k | Automated safety check: Pass | GPL-2.0 | |
| Implementing Rbac Hardening For Kubernetesmukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills | 34k | — | ~2k | Automated safety check: Pass | Apache-2.0 |
trilwu/secskills
Harden and monitor a Kubernetes cluster against the attacks that actually happen — RBAC least privilege and escalation paths, Pod Security Admission enforcement, network policy default-deny, secrets…
aiskillstore/marketplace
Help users install and configure the mirrord Operator for team/enterprise environments.
mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills
Hardens managed Kubernetes clusters on EKS, AKS, and GKE by implementing Pod Security Standards, network policies, workload identity (IRSA for EKS, Workload Identity for GKE, Managed Identities for…
Cybereason-Public/owLSM
Comprehensive guide for implementing NetworkPolicy, PodSecurityPolicy, RBAC, and Pod Security Standards in Kubernetes.
mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills
Hardens Kubernetes RBAC by designing least-privilege Roles and ClusterRoles, auditing RoleBindings, eliminating cluster-admin sprawl, separating service accounts, and integrating an external OIDC…
mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills
Finds over-permissive RBAC roles and service-account token abuse paths in a Kubernetes cluster using kubectl auth can-i, rbac-police, kubectl-who-can, and rakkess, tracing which subjects can…
google/skills
Manages Google Cloud Privileged Access Manager entitlements and grants: create and edit entitlements, request temporary access, and approve or deny pending grants.
google/skills
Writes Terraform alerting policies for AI agents that emit OpenTelemetry metrics, covering reliability, cost, safety, security and quality signals on Google Cloud.
google/skills
Deploys open models or custom weights from Model Garden to Agent Platform endpoints, checks deployment status and cleans up endpoints, confirming before any change.
google/skills
Searches, manages and scaffolds skills in the Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform Skill Registry using bundled Python scripts and Google Cloud credentials.
google/skills
Designs GCP infrastructure as local Terraform, validates and scans it against best practices, then imports it to Application Design Center for deployment and troubleshooting.
google/skills
Analyzes BigQuery slot use, query costs and execution bottlenecks from INFORMATION_SCHEMA to diagnose slow queries, slot contention and unpartitioned scans.
Works with
Categories
Plans, configures, and hardens platform-level Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) cluster security. Gke Platform Security is an agent skill from google/skills, published by the product's own GitHub organization. Plans, configures, and hardens platform-level Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) cluster security.
Gke Platform Security fits situations like: securing cluster control planes; hardening GKE RBAC; enabling Shielded Nodes; enabling GKE Sandbox runtime.
Run `npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-platform-security -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/cloud/gke-platform-security in google/skills) into .claude/skills/gke-platform-security in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
Run `npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-platform-security -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/cloud/gke-platform-security in google/skills) into .agents/skills/gke-platform-security in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add google/skills --skill gke-platform-security -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/gke-platform-security, .gemini/skills/gke-platform-security, .github/skills/gke-platform-security and .opencode/skills/gke-platform-security in your project.
Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Gke Platform Security needs the command-line tools its instructions call (gcloud).
SKILL.md names 2 domains. In commands or code: cloud.google.com; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. As links in the text: docs.cloud.google.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
Gke Platform Security is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
About 2.5k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 10k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Gke Platform Security: Defending Kubernetes (trilwu/secskills, 156 stars), Mirrord Operator (aiskillstore/marketplace, 430 stars), Securing Kubernetes On Cloud (mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills, 34k stars) and K8s Security Policies (Cybereason-Public/owLSM, 280 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
google (a GitHub organization, an official publisher) maintains it in google/skills, which has 20,994 GitHub stars. The repository holds 145 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 6, 2026.
Source: google/skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.