mTLS (Mutual Transport Layer Security) is a security protocol ensuring secure communication by authenticating both communicating parties. It requires mutual authentication, where both the client and server verify each other’s identities using digital certificates and cryptographic keys.
The original Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) was succeeded by Transport Layer Security (TLS), which is now the most frequently used standard for encrypted communication, as seen in HTTPS. Its efficient counterpart, Mutual TLS (or mTLS), solves TLS’s exposed shortcomings.
Many security experts have concluded that TLS is insufficient for today’s security standards. Henceforth, mTLS, a mutual authentication system, validates the authenticity of the parties on both ends of a network connection and ensures that both parties have the right private key.
This blog aims to introduce mTLS, its working and how it differs from the traditional TLS. We will further cover the benefits and demerits of mTLS for you to make a wiser decision. Finally, you will know how you or your company can use mTLS effectively. Let us begin!
What is mTLS?
mTLS stands for Mutual Transport Layer Security. Mutual TLS is a security protocol offering mutual authentication when two parties (client and server) need to verify each other’s identities by confirming that they have the right private key to help them commence with a secured connection.
Mutual TLS is an important variant of TLS (Transport Layer Security) protocol enabling the client and server to authenticate each other using digital certificates and cryptographic keys. In mTLS, both parties (client and server) have their own X.509 digital certificates containing their public keys (used for mutual authentication).
Imagine a two-way ID check, where both people show their identification before proceeding. mTLS establishes an encrypted TLS connection only after the client and server successfully verify each other’s identities through certificate exchange and validation; who would not prefer this rigorous security method?
The Zero Trust encrypted framework commonly uses mTLS to validate connections, individuals and network servers inside a company. It is also a common approach for improving the security of an organization’s APIs since no person or network is believed to be trustworthy.
mTLS is also used in Zero-Trust security models, cloud services, microservices architectures, and high-security applications where strong mutual authentication is required. It eliminates numerous security concerns and potential digital threats.
Although mTLS builds upon the existing TLS protocol used for secure websites (HTTPS), mTLS is a much more robust mechanism compared to TLS for enhanced security and trust between communicating entities. A regular TLS is used where only the client authenticates the server.
How does mTLS work?
Unlike regular TLS, the mutual authentication process in mTLS includes additional procedures for verifying the two parties. The method requires both the client and server to authenticate each other using digital certificates before establishing an encrypted connection.
The Mutual Transport Layer Security protocol, like TLS, protects communication over networks in a couple of ways:
- Validating the counterparty’s legitimacy
- Encrypting web traffic to prevent eavesdropping by malicious actors
This is how mTLS as a protocol builds faith via trusted Certificate Authorities. For an effective setup, both communication parties have to register their identity with this trusted CA, making the mTLS handshake procedure similar to TLS, except for the mandatory exchange of certificates between both parties.
Traditionally, TLS uses a technique known as public-key encryption, which requires the usage of two keys: a public and a private key. Only the private key can decrypt data encrypted with the public key, and vice versa.
A client traditionally obtained a website’s public key from its TLS/SSL certificate and used it to establish secured communications. But mTLS generates a certificate for both the client and the server, allowing them to authenticate using their public/private key combination.
In contrast to standard TLS, mTLS contains the following additional procedures to verify both parties:
- The client interacted with the server.
- The server displays its TLS certificate.
- The client verifies the server’s certificate.
- The client gives the TLS certificate.
- The server verifies the client’s certificate.
- The server allows accessibility.
- The client and server exchange information via an encrypted connection of TLS.
mTLS establishes an encrypted TLS connection using cryptographic protocols like asymmetric and symmetric encryption after successful mutual authentication in the following ways:
mTLS and TLS create a secure channel using asymmetric encryption before switching to improved symmetric cryptography to secure the next parts of communication with encryption. In terms of key management, symmetric cryptography requires less computer resources than asymmetric cryptography.
Symmetric cryptography relies on a single secret key shared only by the client and the server. The secret key must be kept secret because anybody who has it can read the communications because it encrypts and decrypts ciphertexts.
It is mandatory to securely transfer the secret key between the client and server in each client-server connection. However, it becomes difficult to do so securely over a network, particularly a public one like the Internet. Hence, mTLS relies on asymmetric encryption to help websites keep the private key secret.
What is the difference between mTLS and TLS?
The table below provides a concise overview of the key points for mutual TLS vs TLS:
| mTLS | TLS | |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication | Mutual authentication: Both client and server authenticate each other. Server and client present their digital certificates for mutual verification for a higher level of security due to two-way authentication | One-way authentication: Only the server is authenticated by the client. The server presents its digital certificate to the client for verification. |
| Role of CAs | CAs issue and sign both server and client certificates | CAs issue and sign server certificates |
| Use Cases | High-security applications (e.g., IoT device communication, API authentication) | Basic web browsing (e.g., HTTPS) |
| Complexity of Implementation | More complex due to mutual authentication and certificate management | Relatively simpler as it involves only server authentication |
| Security Benefits | Offers mutual authentication, protecting against man-in-the-middle attacks | Provides encryption for data in transit |
| Issuer | Internal organizations act as a Certificate Authority | Trusted Certificate Authorities issue TLS certificates |
| Certificate Management | A self-signed root certificate is used | A verified and trusted root certificate is used |
Why use mTLS?
mTLS stands out as a defense mechanism, offering benefits to secure organizations. Let us understand how the use of mTLS is a strategic move:
- Improved Security Standards: The authentication procedure goes beyond independent verification using mTLS. Checking the client and server identities reduces the possibility of data breaches and prevents impersonation attacks (man-in-the-middle attacks). This advanced security is especially useful in situations where mutual verification of identity is essential, such as business-to-business (B2B) connections.
- Zero Trust Approach: mTLS upholds a core concept of the Zero Trust security approach: Never trust, always verify. mTLS makes it easier to create secure communication channels, restoring faith in data transfers and interactions even in situations where network integrity is under doubt.
- Advanced Application Security: It’s fundamental to secure application-to-application communication inside complex web-based networks today. mTLS is a reliable defense, particularly good at protecting the integrity of internal microservices. It increases the resilience of key infrastructure by protecting APIs from illegal access and possible data breaches.
- Improved Protection Against Emerging Threats: To stay ahead of the cybercriminals, web security professionals must take proactive steps against constantly changing threats. mTLS acts as a shield against these threats through enhanced conventional security measures, ensuring the building of strong systems and data archives.
- Future-Proofing Security: mTLS is emerging as a future-proof option as the need for secure communication grows in various domains. Many organizations, such as financial institutions and government agencies, require mTLS to strengthen their digital ecosystems. Businesses may proactively protect their assets against future dangers by implementing mTLS now.
Benefits of mTLS
Robust Security Mechanisms: Mutual authentication and strong encryption methods are two of mTLS’s security characteristics that create a strong barrier against online threats like data tampering and man-in-the-middle attacks strengthening the confidentiality and integrity of data transfer. It guarantees that only authorized parties have access to sensitive information.
Preserving Data Integrity: There are substantial dangers associated with data breaches; mTLS minimizes users’ concerns by encrypting all client-server connections and preventing efforts at tampering or unauthorized access. mTLS maintains the confidentiality of sensitive data by protecting it securely, boosting trust in data transfers.
Reduce Potential Risks: Organizations can use mTLS to reduce the danger of illegal access to network resources and foil eavesdropping efforts. This all-inclusive security solution lowers vulnerabilities and strengthens digitally against outside attacks while improving the general resilience of communication channels.
Zero Trust Model Compatibility: mTLS is perfectly in line with zero-trust model ideas, which reduce the effect of security breaches by building trust and secure communication channels even in untrusted network settings. This limits the possibility of unauthorized access and data compromise by ensuring that every contact is carefully examined.
Streamlined Digital Safety: Amidst several security protocols, mTLS provides clarity, which eases the effort of managing various solutions by streamlining security architecture. It combines authentication and encryption into a single framework, improving the effectiveness of security procedures and operational efficiency.
Avoiding Impersonation: Malicious actors frequently try to get access to communication channels by impersonating others. mTLS stops such evil attempts by eliminating unauthorized parties from impersonating authorized users and confirming the legitimacy of the communication. This strong defense system protects data tampering and eavesdropping.
How do companies use mTLS?
Secure API Communication: Organizations use mTLS to guarantee that only authorized users are making API queries for API security, preventing malicious API queries. For example, in finance, mTLS can be crucial for securing financial transactions between banks or for securing customer data in online banking applications.
IoT Device Security: mTLS verifies connections when companies try connecting to client devices that don’t require a login, such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices. It also avoids various threats by encrypting data transport and enabling mutual authentication.
Internal Network Security: mTLS is a strong security protocol for organizations to ensure higher-level encryption and authentication, guaranteeing both parties are what they claim to be in an internal network connection. Configure mutual TLS between two internal services to achieve client authentication in your apps and simplify complex security processes.
Remote Access Solutions: Remote work is a trend these days in many companies and a secured remote access solution is all that everyone needs. mTLS provides remote employees with a secure connection to corporate networks.
Securing Microservices Architecture: Businesses use mTLS to set up microservices using a service mesh, a specific layer of architecture, or technological infrastructure that facilitates seamless communication and coordination between services. Amazon, Coca-Cola, eBay, Uber, and Netflix—one of the companies that helped break into microservices—all adopt a microservices architecture.
Third-Party Integration Security: Companies often integrate with third-party services. mTLS verifies authorized access from these partners. As long as both parties are verified using TLS certificates, authorized third parties get a permit to conduct analytics via mTLS, creating a secured digital space.
Overall, mTLS is used to strengthen communication channels and safeguard sensitive data across diverse businesses. However, implementing mTLS poses challenges such as complexity and performance overhead, which we have covered in our next section.
What are the Challenges of mTLS?
While mTLS offers enhanced security benefits, organizations need to consider the potential challenges discussed in this section to make an informed decision. Let us quickly get through them below.
Expensive certificate management: Keeping up with certificates for every client may be expensive and challenging for servers. Moreover, processing exceptions and problems related to certificate processing can also be difficult.
Complex implementation: Since mTLS deals with several clients and servers, it might be problematic to set up, creating issues for certain companies.
Additional training requirements: Maintaining client certificates can be difficult and may call for extra training, particularly for non-technical users requiring further resources.
Cryptographic operations: When dealing with devices that have limited resources or systems with significant traffic, cryptographic procedures might result in performance overhead.
Potential Security Issues: Inadequate management of key distribution and revocation may result in hacked or outdated certificates, which might raise security vulnerabilities.
Compatibility challenges: Previous versions of the systems might not be able to implement Mutual TLS and would need a lot of work to be compatible.
By carefully evaluating trade-offs, organizations can make informed decisions about implementing mTLS. Organizations can confirm if mTLS aligns with their security objectives and operational capabilities.
Best Practices for Preventing Identified Challenges:
- Automating Certificate Management: Making client certificate management simpler through automation tools can reduce costs and complexities associated with certificate lifecycle management.
- Optimizing Cryptographic Operations: Effective key management practices and hardware acceleration can reduce performance costs in systems with limited resources while guaranteeing that mTLS-enabled applications work with their optimum performance.
Conclusion
mTLS is quite practical and helpful for individual small-scale organizations. It is also a great deal for companies using the Zero Trust approach to network security. No user, device, or request is trusted by default, mTLS authenticates each one of them every time they attempt to visit a network.
A fundamental security measure in modern network architectures is feasible via mTLS, which verifies devices and authenticates users. The option of considering mTLS, if you require strong authentication and data confidentiality, is best for your cybersecurity and its safer future.
