Skip to main content

Strengthening Modern API Infrastructure with MTE API Relay and Envoy

· 4 min read

In distributed systems today, secure and resilient communication is everything. As both cyber threats and future quantum risks continue to evolve, architectures must prepare now for quantum-resistant data transport. Two technologies — MTE API Relay from Eclypses and Envoy Proxy — can work together to achieve exactly that.

Brief Introduction​

Envoy is a high-performance L4/L7 proxy designed for service-to-service communication, load balancing, observability, and traffic management. It powers many modern service meshes, such as Istio and Consul.

MTE API Relay is a lightweight, containerized proxy that provides end-to-end encryption using Eclypses’ MicroToken Exchange (MTE) technology. It protects every byte of data that moves between trusted server components, ensuring that no untrusted network or intermediary can access or alter sensitive information. MTE encryption is designed with Quantum Resistant Enforcement (QRE) in mind — protection not only for current threats but also for attacks possible in the quantum era.

Why Quantum Resistant Enforcement Matters Now​

Quantum computing is advancing rapidly. Traditional cryptographic protocols (like RSA or ECC) are vulnerable to being broken by quantum algorithms that could emerge in the coming years. Relying solely on TLS or basic encryption today exposes long-lived or high-value data to harvest-now, decrypt-later risks.

Implementing MTE-based protection through MTE API Relay brings QRE to server APIs now, by wrapping each communication in dynamic cryptographic tokens that can’t be reversed or reused, even by quantum-capable adversaries.

Building a Secure System with Envoy and MTE API Relay​

A deployment combining the two systems looks like this:

  1. Envoy acts as your gateway or sidecar proxy, managing traffic routing, load balancing, retries, and observability across microservices.
  2. MTE API Relay sits at critical boundaries — such as between different trust domains, external integrations, or multi-cloud communication paths — encrypting data end-to-end between services or clusters.

Example layout​

  • Internal Network (Service Mesh):

    • Envoy sidecars handle routing and observability between services.
    • Internal communication remains efficient and load-balanced.

  • Secure Edge / Cross-Domain Boundary:

    • Deploy an Outbound MTE API Relay alongside your Envoy gateway.
    • Pair it with an Inbound MTE API Relay in the remote environment.
    • Envoy routes outgoing traffic (for certain domains or routes) to the local MTE Outbound Relay.
    • The relay encrypts the entire payload using MTE, sends it across the open network to the Inbound Relay.
    • The Inbound Relay decrypts and forwards the clean payload to the internal API.

This architecture allows Envoy to focus on network efficiency and traffic intelligence, while MTE API Relay provides quantum-resistant payload security with minimal overhead and zero application code changes.

Key Advantages of Combining Envoy and MTE API Relay​

  • Layered Security: MTE API Relay encrypts at the data level; Envoy secures and manages the transport level.
  • Minimal Friction: Applications continue to use plain HTTP locally; Relay handles secure encapsulation transparently.
  • Future-Proofing: Quantum Resistance built into core communication.
  • Operational Efficiency: Envoy handles dynamic routing, while MTE API Relay enforces end-to-end confidentiality.
  • Regulatory Readiness: Meets or exceeds compliance needs for data-in-motion protection now — before post-quantum standards finalize.

A Unified Vision for Secure, Intelligent Networks​

Used together, Envoy and MTE API Relay form a complementary solution:

  • Envoy orchestrates traffic efficiently, ensuring scalability and control.
  • MTE API Relay guarantees that every piece of data is shielded by quantum-resistant encryption — even when crossing untrusted networks.

This blend of infrastructure intelligence and robust data protection defines the next generation of secure service communication.

Learn more:
Eclypses MTE API Relay Documentation
Envoy Proxy Overview