The attackers never touched the perimeter. They didn’t start with a phishing email or vulnerable endpoint. There were no alerts. No obvious breadcrumbs. Just quiet movement inside a system nobody was watching closely.  

This is what I’m hearing recently from security teams who’ve faced container attacks.

A few years ago, containers were a fringe technology. But today, they’re everywhere. In fact, experts at Gartner predict that almost all digital workloads will be cloud-based this year.  

That’s good news for innovation. But it’s creating a massive blind spot for security.

Too many organizations are still clinging to outdated beliefs about what containers are and how to secure them. It's time to confront those myths and adopt a strategy that actually fits today’s infrastructure.

Myth: containers are secure by design

Containers are isolated, ephemeral, fast, and flexible. Those are great traits for developers. But they don't translate well to security.

The reality is that agility isn’t the same as security. Just because a container lives for only a few minutes doesn’t mean it’s safe.  

In fact, the speed and scale of containers make them a perfect environment for attackers to hide, pivot, and spread, often without leaving a trace. Breach one container, and they may have breached your entire environment.  

And if you have misconfigurations, weak passwords, or exposed APIs, hackers can easily take advantage and break into systems quickly and quietly.

A Zero Trust architecture makes sure that even when these kinds of errors happen, your network is locked down from the inside out, reducing risk and stopping a catastrophic cyber disaster from happening.

The reality is that agility isn’t the same as security. Just because a container only lives for a few minutes doesn’t mean it’s safe.  

Myth: real risk lies at the perimeter

Most security strategies still prioritize perimeter protection. They focus on what’s coming in and out of the network.

But in containerized environments, the real danger lies inside the network. Lateral movement between workloads is harder to detect, easier to exploit, and rarely monitored closely.  

Moreover, one of the biggest challenges with securing containers is visibility. Security teams can usually see traffic coming in and out of a container cluster. But it's much more difficult to see what’s happening inside. Without that visibility, spotting threats is nearly impossible.

Without visibility grounded in a Zero Trust least-privilege approach, attackers can move freely once they get in — and often do so undetected.

Myth: legacy security tools can adapt

Traditional security technologies were designed for environments where assets had fixed identities and locations. Containers, by contrast, are dynamic, short-lived, and constantly shifting across hosts.

Legacy tools weren’t built for this world.

Trying to retrofit legacy tools to container environments is like trying to map a moving target. It adds complexity without delivering meaningful protection. It often creates blind spots you don’t even know exist.

Modern security strategies like Zero Trust provide a framework for securing these ever-changing environments. And foundational Zero Trust tools like microsegmentation make locking down here-and-gone containers possible.

Myth: if an attacker gets in, you can detect and respond in time

Most security programs today focus on detection and response. But in fast-moving containers environments, the damage may already be done by the time you detect something.

The fact is that you can’t rely on speed alone. Container environments and their attackers move too fast for traditional detection and response tools to keep up.

In fast-moving container environments, by the time you detect something, the damage may already be done.

A better approach is to assume an attacker will get in and make sure they can’t go anywhere once they do. That’s the essence of Zero Trust: limit access, segment everything, and reduce the paths attackers can take.  

It’s not about being faster than the threat. It’s about being structurally prepared for it.

Myth: security slows containers down

Developers love containers because they’re fast and flexible. It makes sense that there’s a persistent fear that tighter security controls will slow down development or increase operational friction.  

That’s only true when security is bolted on after the fact.

But if you build Zero Trust into your architecture from the start — especially with a foundation of microsegmentation — container security can become seamless.  

Your teams keep moving fast. Your infrastructure stays resilient. And your organization gains confidence that it can innovate without opening itself up to unnecessary risk.

Zero Trust is the strategic shift that container security demands

Containers aren’t a passing trend. They’re the future of infrastructure. But they require a fundamental shift in how we think about security.

This isn’t just a tooling challenge. It's a strategic one.

Executives and security leaders need to recognize that legacy assumptions no longer hold up in modern environments. What’s needed is a new operating model: one based on visibility, least privilege, and proactive containment.

Zero Trust is more than a security trend. It’s a business imperative for any organization running in containers. These days, that’s just about everyone.

The sooner we let go of the myths, the faster we can build something truly resilient and ready for whatever comes next.