2026-09-09 –, Ballroom All times in US/Pacific
Ozzie the Overconfident Operator has secured his cluster! He has added Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and carefully given cluster admin privileges to himself alone. As he self-congratulates, Nova the Nefarious Ne'er-do-well watches from around the corner, drooling with anticipation. Spoiler alert⎯Ozzie is about to get HACKED.
In this theatrical play, the speakers perform as Ozzie and Nova, playfully demonstrating Kubernetes security as Nefarious Nova exploits each of Ozzie's oversights. What can Ozzie do when Nova gets the upper hand? How can Ozzie proactively keep Nova's threats at bay?
You’ll laugh out loud while discovering cloud native security concepts including Kubernetes network policies, mutual TLS, admission controller policy enforcement, runtime security, git commit signing, and multi-factor authentication.
Learn security basics alongside Overconfident Ozzie, who is sure the cluster is COMPLETELY secure this time. There is nothing Nova can do to break... uh-oh. Not again!
Whitney Lee is a creator and systems thinker who explores how observability, AI, and platform engineering connect across the cloud native ecosystem. She brings humor, depth, and clarity to complex technologies while building original frameworks that help others understand how systems fit together. She runs a vibrant YouTube channel, hosts Datadog Illuminated and Software Defined Interviews, has delivered two KubeCon keynotes and countless breakout talks, and combines storytelling and technical rigor to illuminate the human side of cloud native engineering.