Microservices Microservice Security Patterns 3

Question 1

What is the role of a service mesh (e.g., Istio, Linkerd) in microservice security?

Accepted Answer

It transparently handles mTLS, authorization policies, and observability via sidecar proxies

Answer

A service mesh uses sidecar proxies to enforce encryption and policy without changing application code.

Question 2

In token-based security, what is a 'token relay' or 'token propagation' pattern?

Accepted Answer

Forwarding the user's access token from one service to downstream services to preserve identity

Answer

Token relay passes the original access token downstream so each service can authorize using the same user context.

Question 3

What security advantage does short-lived token expiry provide?

Accepted Answer

It limits the window of misuse if a token is leaked or stolen

Answer

Short expiry reduces how long a stolen token remains valid, minimizing damage.

Question 4

Which approach best prevents an attacker from forging a JWT?

Accepted Answer

Using a strong signing key and validating the signature on every service

Answer

Validating the cryptographic signature with a protected key ensures tokens cannot be forged.

Question 5

What is the purpose of the 'aud' (audience) claim in a JWT used across microservices?

Accepted Answer

To specify which service(s) the token is intended for, so others reject it

Answer

The audience claim restricts which services should accept the token, preventing misuse elsewhere.

Microservices Practice Test