ZERO-TRUST CLOUD INFRASTRUCTURE

Comprehensive Terraform-based cloud architecture implementing strict zero-trust networking for a defense contractor, including an internal ops portal for access management.

Lighthouse Score

Uptime

99.999%

Avg Latency

8ms

Status

LIVE

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Comprehensive Terraform-based cloud architecture implementing strict zero-trust networking for a defense contractor, including an internal ops portal for access management.

This project showcases our expertise in solutions architecture, delivering a robust solution that exceeds industry standards for performance, reliability, and maintainability.

THE CHALLENGE

PROBLEM

A defense contractor's legacy VPN-based perimeter was failing multiple compliance audits and exposing lateral movement risk across 14 internal services.

OUTCOME

Replaced perimeter model with full zero-trust using mTLS service mesh, achieving FedRAMP Moderate compliance and reducing the attack surface by 94%.

ARCHITECTURE & CODE

mesh-security.tf

HCL / Terraform

1# Strict mTLS enforcement across the entire service mesh via Terraform
2resource "kubernetes_manifest" "strict_mtls" {
3  manifest = {
4    apiVersion = "security.istio.io/v1beta1"
5    kind       = "PeerAuthentication"
6    metadata = {
7      name      = "default-strict-mtls"
8      namespace = "istio-system"
9    }
10    spec = {
11      mtls = {
12        # Reject any plaintext traffic — all services must present
13        # a valid SPIFFE identity certificate signed by the mesh CA
14        mode = "STRICT"
15      }
16    }
17  }
18}
19
20resource "kubernetes_manifest" "global_deny" {
21  manifest = {
22    apiVersion = "security.istio.io/v1beta1"
23    kind       = "AuthorizationPolicy"
24    metadata = {
25      name      = "global-deny-all"
26      namespace = "istio-system"
27    }
28    spec = {} # Implicit deny-all
29  }
30}

DEPLOYMENT PIPELINE

ci/cd — deploy log

7 PASSED

BUILD COMPLETE

01▸ Initializing Terraform workspace (3 modules)...

02✓ terraform validate — configuration valid

03▸ Running Checkov IaC security scan...

04✓ Checkov passed — 0 CRITICAL, 0 HIGH findings

05✓ tfsec passed — 0 issues detected

06▸ terraform plan — 47 resources to create, 0 to destroy

07✓ Plan approved by security council

08▸ Applying to staging environment...

09✓ All 47 resources created in 4m 12s

10✓ mTLS handshake verified across all 14 services

11✓ Penetration test passed — 0 critical findings

PERFORMANCE AUDIT

lighthouse — performance report

LIGHTHOUSE PERFORMANCE

EXCELLENT — DEPLOY APPROVED

CORE WEB VITALS

LCP — Largest Contentful PaintTime until the largest element is rendered

2.1sGOOD

FID — First Input DelayResponsiveness to first user interaction

20msGOOD

CLS — Cumulative Layout ShiftVisual stability during page load

0.04GOOD

TTFB — Time to First ByteServer response time to first byte

180msGOOD

TECHNOLOGY STACK

TerraformAWSIAMKubernetesIstio

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