: When used in conjunction with Kubernetes (or infrastructure) network policies, users achieve higher levels of confidence, knowing that pod-to-pod or service-to-service communication is secured both at network and application layers.</p><p><strong>Secure by default</strong>: When used with Istio’s proxy and centralized policy engine, Istio authentication can be configured during deployment with minimal or no application change. Administrators and operators can thus ensure that service communications are 