ICA Securing Workloads Practice Question
What is the primary function of the 'root-cert.pem' file in the Istio control plane?
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
✓
To establish the chain of trust for mTLS.
The root certificate is used to sign the intermediate CA certificates that sign workload certificates, establishing the trust chain.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
To authorize HTTP requests.
Why it's wrong here
Authorization is handled by policies, not the root cert.
- ✗
To authenticate JWT tokens.
Why it's wrong here
JWT validation relies on JWKS, not the Istio root cert.
- ✗
To encrypt user data in transit.
Why it's wrong here
Data encryption happens via mTLS sessions, not the root cert itself.
- ✓
To establish the chain of trust for mTLS.
Why this is correct
Workloads verify the peer's certificate against the root CA.
About these practice questions
This ICA question is part of Courseiva's 292-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. 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.