ICA Securing Workloads Practice Question
What is the default behavior of Istio mTLS if no PeerAuthentication policy is applied?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
PERMISSIVE mTLS
Istio defaults to PERMISSIVE mode, which allows both mTLS and plaintext traffic.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
STRICT mTLS
Why it's wrong here
STRICT mode would break non-mesh traffic without configuration.
- ✗
Plaintext only
Why it's wrong here
Istio aims to provide security by default; plaintext only is not the default.
- ✗
Disabled
Why it's wrong here
mTLS is enabled by default in Permissive mode.
- ✓
PERMISSIVE mTLS
Why this is correct
Permissive mode is the default, allowing for incremental migration.
About these practice questions
One of 292 original ICA practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed August 2026 · checked against the official CNCF / Linux Foundation exam blueprint
This ICA practice question is part of Courseiva's free CNCF / Linux Foundation certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the ICA exam.