Service identity
A service identity is an identifiable principal representing an application service in authentication and authorization decisions.
Software Security for Developers
Service identity is the identity of a service that makes a request on behalf of a user or another initiating entity.
- How it is used
- Secures service-to-service calls by authenticating callers and authorizing operations across microservice call chains.
- How deep it goes
- Explains definitions, impersonation failures, API keys, mTLS, application enforcement, infrastructure enforcement, and mixed deployment choices.
- Examples
- Uses inventory authorization rules, an unverified billing header, X.509 certificates, API gateways, service meshes, and sidecars.
- What you can do after
- Evaluate service-identity designs and choose application, infrastructure, or mixed authorization using API keys, tokens, signed messages, or mTLS.
Read how Software Security for Developers explains service identity →
Platform Engineering on Kubernetes
A service identity is an identifiable principal representing an application service for authentication and authorization decisions.
- How it is used
- Controls service-to-service and message-broker access through identities and externally enforced interaction rules.
- How deep it goes
- Defines permitted services, protocols, ports, and broker operations, but defers the implementation mechanism to external platform controls.
- Examples
- Uses Service A and Service B, approved protocols and ports, and broker connection, read, and write permissions.
- What you can do after
- Configure service identities and access rules that limit calls, protocols, ports, and message-broker operations.
Read how Platform Engineering on Kubernetes explains service identity →
Related concepts
- identitycontrasts with · Identity is the property or representation by which an entity is distinguished and recognized as that particular entity.
- message brokerconfigures · A message broker is intermediary software that receives, routes, and delivers messages between communicating producers and consumers.
- mutual TLSaddressed by · Mutual TLS is a Transport Layer Security configuration in which both communicating endpoints authenticate each other using digital certificates.
- API keyaddressed by · An API key is a credential used to identify or authorize a client accessing an application programming interface.
- scope of identityhas part · Scope of identity is the degree of specificity with which an identity is assigned to a service, instance, or container.
- blast radiusaddresses · Blast radius is the scope of systems, components, data, users, or functionality that may be affected by a failure, change, or other disruptive event.
These guides are generated from the text of Manning books by Manning's knowledge graph and link to the sections they draw on. The full books are available on liveBook and at manning.com.