Overview
What this challenge is about.
Roll out mTLS across 80 microservices using Istio for a fintech platform and earn your verifiable certificate.
The scenario
The consumer-finance company (FCA-regulated, around 1.2 million customers) cannot ship the next compliance milestone without verifiable in-cluster encryption — sales is losing partnerships over the audit gap.
The Brief
What you'll do, and what you'll demonstrate.
Roll out Istio mTLS in PERMISSIVE-then-STRICT mode across 80 microservices with zero downtime and a verifiable per-namespace audit trail.
Earning criteria — what you'll demonstrate
- Design a phased mTLS rollout that survives services with unaware clients
- Configure Istio PeerAuthentication in PERMISSIVE vs STRICT modes correctly
- Use Kiali + Prometheus to observe mTLS coverage per service
- Plan rollback for each phase without breaking ongoing traffic
Program Fit
Where this fits in your program.
Sharpens the same skills your degree expects you to demonstrate.
Service Mesh and Microservices Networking
Master · Networking
Strong alignment
This challenge maps to Service Mesh and Microservices Networking at the Master level. It sharpens the same practical skills your coursework expects — but in a real industry context with actual constraints and deliverables.
Skills
Skills you'll demonstrate.
Each one shows up on your verified credential.
- Istio
Apply istio to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Mtls
Apply mtls to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Kubernetes
Apply kubernetes to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Service Mesh
Apply service mesh to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Zero Trust Networking
Apply zero trust networking to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
- Rollout Strategy
Apply rollout strategy to solve real industry problems and demonstrate production-level capability.
Careers
Career paths this challenge builds toward
Completing this challenge demonstrates skills that transfer directly to these roles: