What is a best practice when using northbound APIs?

Using encryption with TLS when working with northbound APIs is essential for securing data in transit. Northbound APIs serve as the interface between orchestrators and applications, allowing them to communicate with network devices and services. Enabling encryption via TLS helps protect sensitive information from interception and eavesdropping while the data is being transmitted over the network.

Moreover, utilizing encryption ensures that the data integrity is maintained, preventing unauthorized alterations while the information is being exchanged. By implementing this best practice, developers and organizations can build more secure applications and services, thereby maintaining user trust and regulatory compliance.

In contrast, while clear and simple commands can enhance usability, they do not directly address the security aspect of data transmission. Utilizing standard HTTP methods is crucial for consistency and compatibility, but it doesn't cover security either. Lastly, communicating with untrusted networks without encryption exposes data to significant risk, making it a poor practice overall. Hence, the importance of implementing encryption using TLS stands out as a critical aspect of best practices for northbound API usage.