Announcing Mutual TLS from Fastly

We are excited to announce the general availability of Mutual TLS (mTLS) support from Fastly. mTLS is a security protocol that provides two-way authentication and encryption of network communication. It ensures that both parties, the client and the server, are authenticated and authorized to communicate with each other.

In traditional TLS communication, only the server is authenticated, and the client remains anonymous. However, with mTLS, both the client and the server must present their digital certificates to each other before establishing a connection. This two-way authentication process ensures only authorized parties can communicate with each other and provides a secure way to exchange sensitive data.

Implementing mTLS on your own can be a complex and resource-intensive process. Our solution is more cost-effective and efficient, providing benefits like additional security, scalability, and faster implementation. By leveraging Fastly’s infrastructure, you can ensure that your mTLS implementation remains performant, reliable, and secure, while also saving time and resources.

What are the main benefits?

mTLS provides enhanced security against man-in-the-middle attacks, which occur when a third party intercepts the communication between the client and the server and impersonates one of the parties. Verifying the authenticity of both parties and encrypting the communication prevents this from happening.

Since the communication between the client and the server is encrypted, any data exchanged during the communication is protected from unauthorized access, boosting data privacy. This ensures sensitive data such as passwords, credit card details, or personal information remains confidential.

Many industries require compliance with strict security regulations, like HIPAA, PCI DSS or PSD2. Implementing mTLS helps organizations meet compliance requirements by adding an extra layer of security.

What are the main use cases?

APIs: mTLS is commonly used to secure communication between APIs and their clients. It ensures that only authorized parties can access the API and exchange data securely.

IoT: It has become crucial to secure communication between devices and the cloud. mTLS provides a secure way to exchange data between these devices, preventing unauthorized access.

Financial Transactions: mTLS is used to secure communication between banks and their customers. This ensures that any sensitive financial information exchanged during the transaction remains confidential and protected from unauthorized access.

Why Fastly?

Implementing mTLS can be complex and time-consuming. Fastly can remove barriers around mTLS setup and management, easing the burden on your teams. Our portfolio of TLS offerings allows every organization to deliver secure and private experiences to their end users, designed to address a variety of needs. With Fastly, organizations can quickly scale as their traffic and needs grow.

mTLS is free for the first two domains, and is available for a flat fee for three or more domains.

Learn more about how to set up and configure mTLS with Fastly.