urity/ambient-layers.png title="Layering of ambient mesh data plane"><img class=element-to-stretch src=/v1.24/blog/2022/ambient-security/ambient-layers.png alt="Layering of ambient mesh data plane"></a></div><figcaption>Layering of ambient mesh data plane</figcaption></figure><p>To recap, Istio&rsquo;s ambient mode introduces a layered mesh data plane with a secure overlay responsible for transport security and routing, that has the option to add L7 capabilities for namespaces that need them.
To understand 