Apply Mutual TLS Over a Kubernetes Nginx Ingress Controller

The article delves into the implementation of Mutual Transport Layer Security (mTLS) within a Kubernetes environment, particularly focusing on securing Nginx Ingress Controller endpoints. It outlines the distinctions between traditional TLS, which only verifies the server, and mTLS, which authenticates both client and server, enhancing security by preventing impersonation attacks. The piece provides a detailed guide on setting up an Nginx Ingress Controller, deploying and exposing a simple HTTP application, and enabling TLS with self-signed certificates for security. It further explains the steps for implementing mTLS by creating and configuring certificates for both clients and servers, ensuring that mutual verification occurs. The article emphasizes the importance of mTLS in a production setting and suggests using Earthly, a build automation tool, to optimize build processes post-security setup.