Alexander Pirker

CODE Author

Alexander Pirker works as a Senior Security Consultant. In his daily work, he performs security audits including assessments, penetration testing, and security reviews, holds secure coding workshops, and also gives training and provides consulting services for software design and architecture. He has experience in designing microservices and desktop or mobile applications and also in writing or migrating them. He received a PhD in Physics from the University of Innsbruck and holds master’s degrees in both Technical Mathematics and Biomedical Informatics. In his free time, he likes to go to the gym and also enjoys hiking in the Alps.

Articles Authored

Kubernetes Security for Starters

Last updated: Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Published in: CODE Magazine: 2023 - March/April

In this article, Alexander Pirker discusses the importance of security in Kubernetes clusters. He explains that while Kubernetes provides flexibility and ease of use, there are security considerations that need to be addressed. Pirker covers various aspects of Kubernetes security, including securing service account tokens, making the root file system of containers read-only, isolating network traffic among namespaces, avoiding hostPath mounts, protecting sensitive information in ConfigMaps, encrypting secrets, and properly configuring RBAC. He emphasizes the need for operators to be aware of these security considerations and implement best practices to protect their Kubernetes clusters.
MVPVM: A Palindrome that Helps You Recycle

Last updated: Thursday, January 9, 2025

Published in: CODE Magazine: 2022 - November/December

The trouble with reusing code is that when you update, you have to update everywhere. Alexander teaches you how to simplify this process and make sure that you’re not creating problems somewhere else in the system.
- MVVM
Secure Microservices

Last updated: Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Published in: CODE Magazine: 2022 - March/April

These days, microservices seem to be solving all the architectural issues in software development. They’re everywhere, and that’s a good thing, right? Alexander explains how to make sure this simple construct doesn’t leave you with a security problem.
- Microservices
- Security
Efficient Microservice Development with .NET 5

Last updated: Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Published in: CODE Magazine: 2021 - September/October

Microservices have a lot of potential. They’ve got some really nifty tools and capabilities. But setting up your teams to work with them can feel like running an ultramarathon with 400 pounds strapped to your back. Alexander shows you that they sound scarier than they are and provides some great advice for how to use them intelligently.
- .NET 5
- Microservices
Migrating Monolithic Apps to Multi-Platform Product Lines with .NET 5

Last updated: Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Published in: CODE Magazine: 2021 - March/April

Learn to migrate older applications to .NET 5. Learn to use "ports-and-adapters" (hexogonal architecture) along with design patterns and principles from domain-driven design (DDD) to help you modify your old software so you can split the business logic into independent assemblies.

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