The disclosed embodiments relate to securely transferring data between a source node and a destination node using an application whitelist. A control flow may be established between a source node and a perimeter gateway. the perimeter controller may receive a request to establish a node flow between an application executing on the source node and the destination node. the perimeter controller may determine whether the first application is included in an application whitelist that includes applications allowed to transfer data to nodes in a private network via a node flow. A node flow between the source node and destination node may be established upon determining that the first application is included in the application whitelist to facilitate secure data transfer between the source node and destination node.