Microservices architecture is increasingly being used to design, develop, and deploy large-scale application systems in both cloud-based and enterprise infrastructures. The resulting application system consists of relatively small, loosely coupled entities called microservices that communicate with each other using lightweight communication protocols. This smaller codebase facilitates faster code development and platform optimization for which network security, reliability, and latency are critical factors.

NIST announces the publication of NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-204, Security Strategies for Microservices-based Application Systems, which outlines strategies for the secure deployment of a microservices-based application. The objective is to enhance the security profile of microservices-based applications by analyzing the implementation options for core state-of-practice features as well as the configuration options for architectural frameworks such as API gateway and service mesh. Core features include authentication and access management, service discovery, secure communication protocols, security monitoring, availability/resiliency improvement techniques (e.g., circuit breakers), load balancing and throttling, integrity assurance techniques during induction of new services, and handling of session persistence.