Configure mutual TLS authentication for applications running on Amazon EKS

The Configure mutual TLS authentication Amazon EKS template shows how to establish secure communication between your services in Amazon EKS using mutual TLS (mTLS). 

It uses tools like: 

• Amazon Route 53 for DNS 

• A Network Load Balancer 

• NGINX Ingress pods 

• And TLS certificates for encryption 

With this setup, each service needs to authenticate who it is before it can talk to another. It's two-way, each authenticates the other. It provides you with a good level of security inside your cluster. 
 

Why is this template a game changer? 

In the majority of deployments, the server is authenticated with TLS but the client isn't. This creates a loophole for security. mTLS fills the loophole with both sides authenticating each other like presenting ID cards before talking. 
 

This is helpful because: 

• It protects your services from fake or unknown systems. 

• It safeguards every communication, protecting confidential data. 

• It prevents illegal access to internal applications. 

• It has zero-trust security, where nothing is trusted without exception. 

If you're working on something serious on Kubernetes, especially with several microservices, this is a simple but powerful way to secure it. 
 

Who Can Use This Template and When? 

You don't need to be a large company to desire secure communications. Anyone who's running applications in Amazon EKS, particularly those that use a microservices architecture, ought to desire to use this template. 
 

It's particularly helpful when: 

• You're bringing in several different services that need to communicate with one another. 

• You would want to be insured and validate every connection. 

• You're developing apps that deal with sensitive information. 

• You will need to comply with regulatory needs (e.g., financial or healthcare regulations). 

• You're going to use or already using a service mesh. 

Whether you are a developer, platform engineer, or simply upgrading a cloud installation, this template helps you in creating a more secure foundation. 
 

What are the main components of the template? 

Here's what the template employs, and what each component does: 

• Amazon Route 53: It manages domain names and routes traffic to your services. 
   

• Network Load Balancer (NLB): It sends traffic to your services while preserving performance and security. 
   

• NGINX Ingress Pod: It is the point of entry that receives incoming connections and enforces the mTLS policy. 
   

• Application Service: That is where your real app resides and reacts to user or system requests. 
   

• Application Pods: These execute your application's code and perform activities such as APIs, processing, or logic. 
   

• Virtual Private Cloud (VPC): That's your internal network in AWS that isolates everything. 
   

• Organizations: Help in controlling access and security policies in your AWS environment. 
   

• Amazon EKS: The Kubernetes core service that runs your workloads in the cloud. 
   

• Certificate Authority (CA): Authenticates identity of services by issuing digital certificates. 
   

• TLS Certificates: These allow authenticated and secure communication between services. 
   

• Service Mesh (optional): This can help with handling communication between services in case your app configuration becomes large.
   

• Ingress Controllers: Control incoming traffic and enforce security policies. 
   

• Policy Rules: Determine who needs to speak with whom and under what circumstances. 

All these pieces ensure that only authenticated services can communicate with one another, and all data remains encrypted as it travels between services. 
 

How to Start with Cloudairy ?

Cloudairy makes it easy to do so. This is how you do it: 

• Log into Cloudairy and proceed to the Templates page. 

• In the search box, enter: "Configure mutual TLS authentication Amazon EKS." 

• Click the template when it becomes available. 

• Choose Use Template to start setup. 

• Enter information such as your Route 53 configuration, load balancer, and ingress pod configuration. 

• Install the setup in your system. 

• On deployment, make sure that all services only communicate with trusted services and that traffic is encrypted. 

• Monitor the connections and make sure all is working as it should. 

That's all! Now you have a solid security layer. 
 

Summary 

The Configure mutual TLS authentication Amazon EKS template provides a simple means of encrypting communication between your services on Amazon EKS with mutual TLS (mTLS). 

It helps you: 

• Verify both ends of a connection 

• Encrypt all communications 

• Prevent unauthorized access 

• Enhance security across your applications 

 You achieve this security configuration through the deployment of common AWS services such as Route 53, Load Balancer, EKS, and TLS certificates, all in harmony. This comes manually particularly for organizations that would prefer to adopt best practices for Kubernetes security, without having to write everything themselves from scratch.