.NET Architecture & System Design Interview Question #156

What is TLS and why is it important?

Security Architecture, Multi-Tenancy & Disaster Recovery Senior Advanced

Quick Interview Answer

TLS protects data in transit by providing encryption and server authentication, and it can also support client authentication. HTTPS is HTTP carried over TLS.

Detailed Explanation

TLS protects data in transit by providing encryption and server authentication, and it can also support client authentication. HTTPS is HTTP carried over TLS.

TLS helps prevent network observers from reading or modifying sensitive traffic. Certificate lifecycle, supported protocol versions, termination points, and internal service traffic should all be considered in the architecture.

Code Example

Client
   |
 HTTPS / TLS
   |
Load Balancer / API
   |
protected data in transit