KCSA Platform Security Practice Question
An administrator needs to enforce mTLS (Mutual TLS) across all microservices within a service mesh without modifying application code. Which component is automatically injected into each application pod to handle the encryption and decryption of traffic?
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
✓
Sidecar proxy
Service meshes like Istio or Linkerd inject a sidecar proxy (typically Envoy) into application pods to intercept all incoming and outgoing traffic and handle mTLS transparently.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Container runtime shim
Why it's wrong here
The runtime shim interfaces between the container manager and the kernel, not service mesh networking.
- ✗
Kube-proxy
Why it's wrong here
Kube-proxy maintains network rules on nodes for cluster IP service routing, not application-level mTLS.
- ✗
Ingress controller
Why it's wrong here
An ingress controller manages external-to-cluster traffic at the perimeter, not pod-to-pod internal traffic.
- ✓
Sidecar proxy
Why this is correct
The sidecar proxy intercepts network traffic and handles mTLS encryption and policy enforcement transparently.
About these practice questions
One of 320 original KCSA 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 KCSA 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 KCSA exam.