Zero-Trust Security in Service Mesh and API Gateways Essentials Quiz Quiz

Explore foundational concepts of zero-trust security principles within service mesh and API gateway environments. This quiz will assess understanding of key elements such as authentication, encryption, traffic policies, and the differences between service mesh and API gateway security in modern distributed systems.

1. Core Principle of Zero-Trust

   In a zero-trust security model applied to service mesh, what is the primary assumption regarding network traffic inside the perimeter?

   1. All internal traffic is trusted by default
   2. No internal traffic is trusted without verification
   3. Only external traffic needs inspection
   4. All traffic is blocked at all times

   Explanation: Zero-trust security assumes that no traffic, even internal traffic, should be trusted by default; all traffic must be verified. The idea of trusting all internal traffic is outdated and insecure. Blocking all traffic at all times is impractical and would halt system operations. Focusing only on external traffic ignores the risks posed by lateral movement within the network.

2. Role of Mutual TLS

   Why is mutual TLS (mTLS) important in a zero-trust service mesh setup when services communicate with each other?

   1. It allows services to transfer data faster
   2. It encrypts data and verifies identities of both client and server in every conversation
   3. It prevents logging of any requests
   4. It enables automatic scaling of services

   Explanation: Mutual TLS secures service-to-service communication by encrypting data and ensuring both parties authenticate each other, aligning with zero-trust goals. Faster data transfer is unrelated; encryption usually introduces a small overhead. Preventing request logging is not a feature of mTLS, and scaling services is a separate matter handled by other mechanisms.

3. API Gateway vs Service Mesh

   Which is a typical function of an API gateway relevant to zero-trust security, but not generally performed by a service mesh?

   1. Providing circuit breaking for internal service calls
   2. Enforcing centralized user authentication for incoming API requests
   3. Enabling east-west traffic encryption between microservices
   4. Managing service discovery within a cluster

   Explanation: API gateways often handle user-centric authentication at the entry point, enforcing who can access APIs, which aligns with zero-trust. Service discovery and east-west traffic encryption are core responsibilities of service meshes. Circuit breaking is typically performed within the service mesh rather than at the API gateway.

4. Granular Access Control Example

   If only the inventory service should read the order service data, which zero-trust security feature enables this policy in a service mesh?

   1. Auto-sharding
   2. Deployment scaling
   3. Traffic mirroring
   4. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

   Explanation: RBAC ensures that only specified services or users have required access, implementing least-privilege policies vital for zero-trust. Deployment scaling and auto-sharding are related to availability and data distribution, not access control. Traffic mirroring is used for testing or analysis, not for enforcing permissions.

5. East-West vs North-South Traffic

   In a distributed system secured by zero-trust, how does a service mesh mainly secure east-west traffic?

   1. By denying all incoming HTTP requests from clients
   2. By limiting outgoing connections to the internet
   3. By caching outgoing API responses
   4. By encrypting traffic between internal services and authenticating them

   Explanation: Service mesh focuses on internal (east-west) traffic by encrypting communication and authenticating identities, preventing unauthorized access. Denying all incoming requests concerns north-south traffic and would block valid usage. Caching and limiting outgoing internet connections are not the primary approach for east-west security.

6. Zero-Trust Policy Principle

   Which principle best describes the access policies in a zero-trust security architecture for microservices?

   1. Block all requests, including legitimate ones
   2. Randomly allow or deny based on load
   3. Deny by default and allow only with explicit permission
   4. Allow all internally routed requests by default

   Explanation: Zero-trust is built around the principle of denying access by default and granting it only when specific conditions are met. Allowing all internal requests undermines security. Randomly allowing or denying has no basis in security. Blocking all requests would prevent any business operations.

7. API Gateway Rate Limiting

   How does implementing rate limiting in an API gateway contribute to zero-trust security?

   1. It provides automatic failover between services
   2. It controls the number of requests and helps prevent misuse or abuse
   3. It eliminates internal threats completely
   4. It guarantees encryption of all traffic

   Explanation: Rate limiting restricts the number of API calls, protecting against abuse like brute force attacks, which is important for zero-trust. It does not handle encryption or provide failover capabilities. While it reduces risk, it cannot fully eliminate internal threats.

8. Zero-Trust and Service Discovery

   What zero-trust action should a service mesh take before allowing a service to discover and connect to another service?

   1. Automatically log connection attempts without restriction
   2. Authenticate and authorize the requesting service
   3. Allow any service to connect without validation
   4. Only verify network speed between services

   Explanation: Zero-trust requires identification and permission checks before service connections. Verifying network speed is unrelated to security. Logging is helpful but insufficient without access controls. Open connections without validation directly violate zero-trust principles.

9. Data Encryption at Rest

   Why should data at rest be encrypted, even in a zero-trust environment using service meshes and API gateways?

   1. To avoid network latency issues
   2. To protect stored data if storage devices become compromised
   3. To make databases run faster
   4. To reduce the size of stored data

   Explanation: Encryption at rest safeguards sensitive data from unauthorized access if hardware or backups are stolen. It does not impact database speed, data size, or network latency. These other options are unrelated to encryption's security purpose.

10. Continuous Verification Concept

    Within a zero-trust approach in API gateways, what does continuous verification refer to?

    1. Rechecking identities and permissions throughout interactions, not just at login
    2. Allowing initial connections without checks
    3. Enabling services to communicate once per hour
    4. Permitting any user with a password to access all APIs

    Explanation: Continuous verification means that system repeatedly checks if users or services are authorized during ongoing sessions, limiting the impact if credentials are stolen. Initial connection-only checks miss later risks. Time-based communication and password-only access without ongoing checks contradict zero-trust principles.