Distributed System and Microservices Security Questions

Focuses on security considerations for distributed systems, APIs, containers, and microservice ecosystems. Includes authentication and authorization approaches for APIs and service to service communication, token models and OAuth and JSON web tokens, API gateway and rate limiting strategies, secrets management and secure configuration, network segmentation and service mesh security, container and runtime image hardening, Kubernetes and orchestration security, vulnerability scanning and patch management, secure logging and tracing practices, dependency supply chain security, and compliance and governance implications. Emphasizes how security control implementation differs between monoliths and distributed architectures.

EasyTechnical

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Describe at least three authentication methods suitable for service-to-service communication in a distributed data pipeline (examples: batch ingestion worker to metadata service). For each method, list pros, cons, and recommended use cases for a data engineering environment.

HardSystem Design

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You need to ensure container image provenance in a data platform. Describe how you would implement a supply chain security process that includes signed build artifacts, immutable image tags, SBOM generation, and verification before deployment to production agents running ETL jobs.

HardTechnical

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How would you apply threat modeling to a new microservice in a distributed data pipeline that exposes query capabilities to external partners? Walk through assets, entry points, trust boundaries, threat scenarios, and prioritized mitigations from a data engineer's viewpoint.

EasySystem Design

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You must design an API gateway policy to protect a critical data ingestion API that receives 10k requests/minute. List the specific controls you would configure at the gateway (authentication, authorization, rate-limiting, throttling, IP allowlists, request validation) and explain why each is necessary in a distributed data platform.

MediumTechnical

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Describe how mutual TLS (mTLS) works for securing service-to-service communication in a distributed data platform. Include certificate issuance, verification, rotation, and how it complements or replaces token-based auth in different scenarios.

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