Hybrid cloud access Kubernetes network policies define the rules that decide which pods talk to each other, and who can reach them from outside. They enforce segmentation across bare-metal, private cloud, and public cloud resources. Without them, every connection is open by default. With them, you can harden your infrastructure layer by layer.
The challenge lies in hybrid connectivity. Inter-cluster communication, cloud VPNs, and container-level isolation must align. A misconfigured policy in one environment can create a hole across them all. Define ingress rules for every namespace. Allow outbound traffic only where it is required. Test each path—internal pod to internal pod, inter-cluster, and external services.
Kubernetes network policies work at the network plugin level. In hybrid clouds, ensure your CNI providers support consistent isolation semantics across all clusters. Calico, Cilium, and Azure CNI each handle enforcement differently. Map out these differences before writing a single rule.