diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/api/DMLScript.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/api/DMLScript.java
index d32731f..dfe6825 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/api/DMLScript.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/api/DMLScript.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.InputStream;
 import java.io.InputStreamReader;
+import java.security.cert.CertificateException;
 import java.text.DateFormat;
 import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
 import java.util.Date;
@@ -78,7 +79,6 @@
 import org.apache.sysds.utils.Explain.ExplainCounts;
 import org.apache.sysds.utils.Explain.ExplainType;
 
-
 public class DMLScript 
 {
 	private static ExecMode   EXEC_MODE          = DMLOptions.defaultOptions.execMode;     // the execution mode
@@ -237,12 +237,17 @@
 				return true;
 			}
 			
-			if (dmlOptions.fedWorker) {
+			if(dmlOptions.fedWorker) {
 				loadConfiguration(fnameOptConfig);
-				new FederatedWorker(dmlOptions.fedWorkerPort).run();
+				try {
+					new FederatedWorker(dmlOptions.fedWorkerPort).run();
+				}
+				catch(CertificateException e) {
+					e.printStackTrace();
+				}
 				return true;
 			}
-			
+
 			LineageCacheConfig.setConfig(LINEAGE_REUSE);
 			LineageCacheConfig.setCachePolicy(LINEAGE_POLICY);
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/conf/DMLConfig.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/conf/DMLConfig.java
index 9c1b65a..49c83ee 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/conf/DMLConfig.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/conf/DMLConfig.java
@@ -93,6 +93,7 @@
 	public static final String PRINT_GPU_MEMORY_INFO = "sysds.gpu.print.memoryInfo";
 	public static final String EVICTION_SHADOW_BUFFERSIZE = "sysds.gpu.eviction.shadow.bufferSize";
 
+	public static final String USE_SSL_FEDERATED_COMMUNICATION = "sysds.federated.ssl"; // boolean
 	public static final int DEFAULT_FEDERATED_PORT = 4040; // borrowed default Spark Port
 	public static final int DEFAULT_NUMBER_OF_FEDERATED_WORKER_THREADS = 2;
 	
@@ -138,6 +139,7 @@
 		_defaultVals.put(SYNCHRONIZE_GPU,        "false" );
 		_defaultVals.put(EAGER_CUDA_FREE,        "false" );
 		_defaultVals.put(FLOATING_POINT_PRECISION, "double" );
+		_defaultVals.put(USE_SSL_FEDERATED_COMMUNICATION, "false");
 	}
 	
 	public DMLConfig() {
@@ -385,7 +387,8 @@
 			CODEGEN, CODEGEN_API, CODEGEN_COMPILER, CODEGEN_OPTIMIZER, CODEGEN_PLANCACHE, CODEGEN_LITERALS,
 			STATS_MAX_WRAP_LEN, PRINT_GPU_MEMORY_INFO,
 			AVAILABLE_GPUS, SYNCHRONIZE_GPU, EAGER_CUDA_FREE, FLOATING_POINT_PRECISION, GPU_EVICTION_POLICY, 
-			LOCAL_SPARK_NUM_THREADS, EVICTION_SHADOW_BUFFERSIZE, GPU_MEMORY_ALLOCATOR, GPU_MEMORY_UTILIZATION_FACTOR
+			LOCAL_SPARK_NUM_THREADS, EVICTION_SHADOW_BUFFERSIZE, GPU_MEMORY_ALLOCATOR, GPU_MEMORY_UTILIZATION_FACTOR,
+			USE_SSL_FEDERATED_COMMUNICATION
 		}; 
 		
 		StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/runtime/controlprogram/federated/FederatedData.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/runtime/controlprogram/federated/FederatedData.java
index 5a40456..f9702c0 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/runtime/controlprogram/federated/FederatedData.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/runtime/controlprogram/federated/FederatedData.java
@@ -26,9 +26,12 @@
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.concurrent.Future;
 
+import javax.net.ssl.SSLException;
+
 import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
 import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
 import org.apache.sysds.common.Types;
+import org.apache.sysds.conf.ConfigurationManager;
 import org.apache.sysds.conf.DMLConfig;
 import org.apache.sysds.runtime.DMLRuntimeException;
 import org.apache.sysds.runtime.controlprogram.federated.FederatedRequest.RequestType;
@@ -38,6 +41,7 @@
 import io.netty.channel.ChannelHandlerContext;
 import io.netty.channel.ChannelInboundHandlerAdapter;
 import io.netty.channel.ChannelInitializer;
+import io.netty.channel.ChannelPipeline;
 import io.netty.channel.EventLoopGroup;
 import io.netty.channel.nio.NioEventLoopGroup;
 import io.netty.channel.socket.SocketChannel;
@@ -45,13 +49,15 @@
 import io.netty.handler.codec.serialization.ClassResolvers;
 import io.netty.handler.codec.serialization.ObjectDecoder;
 import io.netty.handler.codec.serialization.ObjectEncoder;
+import io.netty.handler.ssl.SslContext;
+import io.netty.handler.ssl.SslContextBuilder;
+import io.netty.handler.ssl.util.InsecureTrustManagerFactory;
 import io.netty.util.concurrent.Promise;
 
-
 public class FederatedData {
 	private static final Log LOG = LogFactory.getLog(FederatedData.class.getName());
 	private static final Set<InetSocketAddress> _allFedSites = new HashSet<>();
-	
+
 	private final Types.DataType _dataType;
 	private final InetSocketAddress _address;
 	private final String _filepath;
@@ -71,34 +77,34 @@
 	public InetSocketAddress getAddress() {
 		return _address;
 	}
-	
+
 	public void setVarID(long varID) {
 		_varID = varID;
 	}
-	
+
 	public long getVarID() {
 		return _varID;
 	}
-	
+
 	public String getFilepath() {
 		return _filepath;
 	}
 
-	public Types.DataType getDataType(){
+	public Types.DataType getDataType() {
 		return _dataType;
 	}
-	
+
 	public boolean isInitialized() {
 		return _varID != -1;
 	}
-	
+
 	boolean equalAddress(FederatedData that) {
-		return _address != null && that != null && that._address != null 
-			&& _address.equals(that._address);
+		return _address != null && that != null && that._address != null && _address.equals(that._address);
 	}
-	
+
 	/**
 	 * Make a copy of the <code>FederatedData</code> metadata, but use another varID (refer to another object on worker)
+	 * 
 	 * @param varID the varID of the variable we refer to
 	 * @return new <code>FederatedData</code> with different varID set
 	 */
@@ -107,7 +113,7 @@
 		copy.setVarID(varID);
 		return copy;
 	}
-	
+
 	public synchronized Future<FederatedResponse> initFederatedData(long id) {
 		if(isInitialized())
 			throw new DMLRuntimeException("Tried to init already initialized data");
@@ -119,61 +125,80 @@
 		request.appendParam(_dataType.name());
 		return executeFederatedOperation(request);
 	}
-	
+
 	public synchronized Future<FederatedResponse> executeFederatedOperation(FederatedRequest... request) {
-		return executeFederatedOperation(_address, request);
+
+		try {
+			return executeFederatedOperation(_address, request);
+		}
+		catch(SSLException e) {
+			throw new DMLRuntimeException("Error in SSL Connection", e);
+		}
 	}
-	
+
 	/**
 	 * Executes an federated operation on a federated worker.
 	 *
 	 * @param address socket address (incl host and port)
 	 * @param request the requested operation
 	 * @return the response
+	 * @throws SSLException Throws an SSL exception if the ssl construction fails.
 	 */
-	public static Future<FederatedResponse> executeFederatedOperation(InetSocketAddress address, FederatedRequest... request) {
-		// Careful with the number of threads. Each thread opens connections to multiple files making resulting in 
+	public static Future<FederatedResponse> executeFederatedOperation(InetSocketAddress address,
+		FederatedRequest... request) throws SSLException {
+		// Careful with the number of threads. Each thread opens connections to multiple files making resulting in
 		// java.io.IOException: Too many open files
 		EventLoopGroup workerGroup = new NioEventLoopGroup(DMLConfig.DEFAULT_NUMBER_OF_FEDERATED_WORKER_THREADS);
+		final SslContext sslCtx = SslContextBuilder.forClient().trustManager(InsecureTrustManagerFactory.INSTANCE)
+			.build();
 		try {
 			Bootstrap b = new Bootstrap();
 			final DataRequestHandler handler = new DataRequestHandler(workerGroup);
+			// Client Netty
 			b.group(workerGroup).channel(NioSocketChannel.class).handler(new ChannelInitializer<SocketChannel>() {
 				@Override
-				public void initChannel(SocketChannel ch) {
-					ch.pipeline().addLast("ObjectDecoder",
-						new ObjectDecoder(Integer.MAX_VALUE, ClassResolvers.weakCachingResolver(ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader())))
-						.addLast("FederatedOperationHandler", handler)
-						.addLast("ObjectEncoder", new ObjectEncoder());
+				protected void initChannel(SocketChannel ch) throws Exception {
+					ChannelPipeline cp = ch.pipeline();
+					if(ConfigurationManager.getDMLConfig().getBooleanValue(DMLConfig.USE_SSL_FEDERATED_COMMUNICATION)) {
+						cp.addLast(
+							sslCtx.newHandler(ch.alloc(), address.getAddress().getHostAddress(), address.getPort()));
+					}
+
+					cp.addLast("ObjectDecoder",
+						new ObjectDecoder(Integer.MAX_VALUE,
+							ClassResolvers.weakCachingResolver(ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader())));
+					cp.addLast("FederatedOperationHandler", handler);
+					cp.addLast("ObjectEncoder", new ObjectEncoder());
+
 				}
 			});
-			
+
 			ChannelFuture f = b.connect(address).sync();
 			Promise<FederatedResponse> promise = f.channel().eventLoop().newPromise();
 			handler.setPromise(promise);
 			f.channel().writeAndFlush(request);
 			return promise;
 		}
-		catch (InterruptedException e) {
+		catch(InterruptedException e) {
 			throw new DMLRuntimeException("Could not send federated operation.");
 		}
-		catch (Exception e) {
+		catch(Exception e) {
 			throw new DMLRuntimeException(e);
 		}
 	}
-	
+
 	public static void clearFederatedWorkers() {
-		if( _allFedSites.isEmpty() )
+		if(_allFedSites.isEmpty())
 			return;
-		
+
 		try {
-			//create and execute clear request on all workers
+			// create and execute clear request on all workers
 			FederatedRequest fr = new FederatedRequest(RequestType.CLEAR);
 			List<Future<FederatedResponse>> ret = new ArrayList<>();
-			for( InetSocketAddress address : _allFedSites )
+			for(InetSocketAddress address : _allFedSites)
 				ret.add(executeFederatedOperation(address, fr));
-			
-			//wait for successful completion
+
+			// wait for successful completion
 			FederationUtils.waitFor(ret);
 		}
 		catch(Exception ex) {
@@ -183,26 +208,26 @@
 			resetFederatedSites();
 		}
 	}
-	
+
 	public static void resetFederatedSites() {
 		_allFedSites.clear();
 	}
-	
+
 	private static class DataRequestHandler extends ChannelInboundHandlerAdapter {
 		private Promise<FederatedResponse> _prom;
 		private EventLoopGroup _workerGroup;
-		
+
 		public DataRequestHandler(EventLoopGroup workerGroup) {
 			_workerGroup = workerGroup;
 		}
-		
+
 		public void setPromise(Promise<FederatedResponse> prom) {
 			_prom = prom;
 		}
-		
+
 		@Override
 		public void channelRead(ChannelHandlerContext ctx, Object msg) {
-			if (_prom == null)
+			if(_prom == null)
 				throw new DMLRuntimeException("Read while no message was sent");
 			_prom.setSuccess((FederatedResponse) msg);
 			ctx.close();
@@ -211,11 +236,11 @@
 	}
 
 	@Override
-	public String toString(){
+	public String toString() {
 		StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
 		sb.append(this.getClass().getSimpleName().toString());
-		sb.append(" "+ _dataType);
-		sb.append(" "+_address.toString());
+		sb.append(" " + _dataType);
+		sb.append(" " + _address.toString());
 		sb.append(":" + _filepath);
 		return sb.toString();
 	}
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/runtime/controlprogram/federated/FederatedWorker.java b/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/runtime/controlprogram/federated/FederatedWorker.java
index 726198a..7c44593 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/runtime/controlprogram/federated/FederatedWorker.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/apache/sysds/runtime/controlprogram/federated/FederatedWorker.java
@@ -19,10 +19,19 @@
 
 package org.apache.sysds.runtime.controlprogram.federated;
 
+import java.security.cert.CertificateException;
+
+import javax.net.ssl.SSLException;
+
+import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
+import org.apache.sysds.conf.ConfigurationManager;
+import org.apache.sysds.conf.DMLConfig;
+
 import io.netty.bootstrap.ServerBootstrap;
 import io.netty.channel.ChannelFuture;
 import io.netty.channel.ChannelInitializer;
 import io.netty.channel.ChannelOption;
+import io.netty.channel.ChannelPipeline;
 import io.netty.channel.EventLoopGroup;
 import io.netty.channel.nio.NioEventLoopGroup;
 import io.netty.channel.socket.SocketChannel;
@@ -30,44 +39,54 @@
 import io.netty.handler.codec.serialization.ClassResolvers;
 import io.netty.handler.codec.serialization.ObjectDecoder;
 import io.netty.handler.codec.serialization.ObjectEncoder;
-import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
-import org.apache.sysds.conf.DMLConfig;
+import io.netty.handler.ssl.SslContext;
+import io.netty.handler.ssl.SslContextBuilder;
+import io.netty.handler.ssl.util.SelfSignedCertificate;
 
 public class FederatedWorker {
 	protected static Logger log = Logger.getLogger(FederatedWorker.class);
 
 	private int _port;
 	private final ExecutionContextMap _ecm;
-	
+
 	public FederatedWorker(int port) {
 		_ecm = new ExecutionContextMap();
 		_port = (port == -1) ? DMLConfig.DEFAULT_FEDERATED_PORT : port;
 	}
 
-	public void run() {
+	public void run() throws CertificateException, SSLException {
 		log.info("Setting up Federated Worker");
 		EventLoopGroup bossGroup = new NioEventLoopGroup(1);
 		EventLoopGroup workerGroup = new NioEventLoopGroup(1);
 		ServerBootstrap b = new ServerBootstrap();
-		b.group(bossGroup, workerGroup).channel(NioServerSocketChannel.class)
-			.childHandler(new ChannelInitializer<SocketChannel>() {
-				@Override
-				public void initChannel(SocketChannel ch) {
-					ch.pipeline()
-						.addLast("ObjectDecoder",
-							new ObjectDecoder(Integer.MAX_VALUE,
-								ClassResolvers.weakCachingResolver(ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader())))
-						.addLast("ObjectEncoder", new ObjectEncoder())
-						.addLast("FederatedWorkerHandler", new FederatedWorkerHandler(_ecm));
-				}
-			}).option(ChannelOption.SO_BACKLOG, 128).childOption(ChannelOption.SO_KEEPALIVE, true);
+		// TODO add ability to use real ssl files, not self signed certificates.
+		SelfSignedCertificate cert = new SelfSignedCertificate();
+		final SslContext cont2 = SslContextBuilder.forServer(cert.certificate(), cert.privateKey()).build();
+
 		try {
+			b.group(bossGroup, workerGroup).channel(NioServerSocketChannel.class)
+				.childHandler(new ChannelInitializer<SocketChannel>() {
+					@Override
+					public void initChannel(SocketChannel ch) {
+						ChannelPipeline cp = ch.pipeline();
+
+						if(ConfigurationManager.getDMLConfig()
+							.getBooleanValue(DMLConfig.USE_SSL_FEDERATED_COMMUNICATION)) {
+							cp.addLast(cont2.newHandler(ch.alloc()));
+						}
+						cp.addLast("ObjectDecoder",
+							new ObjectDecoder(Integer.MAX_VALUE,
+								ClassResolvers.weakCachingResolver(ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader())));
+						cp.addLast("ObjectEncoder", new ObjectEncoder());
+						cp.addLast("FederatedWorkerHandler", new FederatedWorkerHandler(_ecm));
+					}
+				}).option(ChannelOption.SO_BACKLOG, 128).childOption(ChannelOption.SO_KEEPALIVE, true);
 			log.info("Starting Federated Worker server at port: " + _port);
 			ChannelFuture f = b.bind(_port).sync();
 			log.info("Started Federated Worker at port: " + _port);
 			f.channel().closeFuture().sync();
 		}
-		catch (InterruptedException e) {
+		catch(Exception e) {
 			log.info("Federated worker interrupted");
 		}
 		finally {
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/apache/sysds/test/functions/federated/io/FederatedReaderTest.java b/src/test/java/org/apache/sysds/test/functions/federated/io/FederatedReaderTest.java
index 8fa2063..d4dc464 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/apache/sysds/test/functions/federated/io/FederatedReaderTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/apache/sysds/test/functions/federated/io/FederatedReaderTest.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
  */
 package org.apache.sysds.test.functions.federated.io;
 
+
 import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.Collection;
 
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@
 	@Parameterized.Parameters
 	public static Collection<Object[]> data() {
 		// number of rows or cols has to be >= number of federated locations.
-		return Arrays.asList(new Object[][] {{10, 13, true, 2},});
+		return Arrays.asList(new Object[][] {{10, 13, true, 2}});
 	}
 
 	@Test
@@ -99,13 +100,14 @@
 			// Run reference dml script with normal matrix
 			fullDMLScriptName = SCRIPT_DIR + "functions/federated/io/" + TEST_NAME + (rowPartitioned ? "Row" : "Col")
 				+ "Reference.dml";
-			programArgs = new String[] {"-args", input("X1"), input("X2")};
+			programArgs = new String[] {"-stats", "-args", input("X1"), input("X2")};
 			String refOut = runTest(null).toString();
+			
 			// Run federated
 			fullDMLScriptName = SCRIPT_DIR + "functions/federated/io/" + TEST_NAME + ".dml";
 			programArgs = new String[] {"-stats", "-args", input("X.json")};
 			String out = runTest(null).toString();
-			// LOG.error(out);
+
 			Assert.assertTrue(heavyHittersContainsString("fed_uak+"));
 			// Verify output
 			Assert.assertEquals(Double.parseDouble(refOut.split("\n")[0]),
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/apache/sysds/test/functions/federated/io/FederatedSSLTest.java b/src/test/java/org/apache/sysds/test/functions/federated/io/FederatedSSLTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..40029f6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/org/apache/sysds/test/functions/federated/io/FederatedSSLTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+package org.apache.sysds.test.functions.federated.io;
+
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Collection;
+
+import org.apache.sysds.common.Types;
+import org.apache.sysds.runtime.controlprogram.caching.MatrixObject;
+import org.apache.sysds.runtime.meta.MatrixCharacteristics;
+import org.apache.sysds.test.AutomatedTestBase;
+import org.apache.sysds.test.TestConfiguration;
+import org.apache.sysds.test.TestUtils;
+import org.apache.sysds.test.functions.federated.FederatedTestObjectConstructor;
+import org.junit.Assert;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
+import org.junit.runners.Parameterized;
+
+@RunWith(value = Parameterized.class)
+@net.jcip.annotations.NotThreadSafe
+public class FederatedSSLTest extends AutomatedTestBase {
+
+	// private static final Log LOG = LogFactory.getLog(FederatedReaderTest.class.getName());
+	// This test use the same scripts as the Federated Reader tests, just with SSL enabled.
+	private final static String TEST_DIR = "functions/federated/io/";
+	private final static String TEST_NAME = "FederatedReaderTest";
+	private final static String TEST_CLASS_DIR = TEST_DIR + FederatedReaderTest.class.getSimpleName() + "/";
+	private final static int blocksize = 1024;
+	private final static File TEST_CONF_FILE = new File(SCRIPT_DIR + TEST_DIR + "SSLConfig.xml");
+
+	@Parameterized.Parameter()
+	public int rows;
+	@Parameterized.Parameter(1)
+	public int cols;
+	@Parameterized.Parameter(2)
+	public boolean rowPartitioned;
+	@Parameterized.Parameter(3)
+	public int fedCount;
+
+	@Override
+	public void setUp() {
+		TestUtils.clearAssertionInformation();
+		addTestConfiguration(TEST_NAME, new TestConfiguration(TEST_CLASS_DIR, TEST_NAME));
+	}
+
+	@Parameterized.Parameters
+	public static Collection<Object[]> data() {
+		// number of rows or cols has to be >= number of federated locations.
+		return Arrays.asList(new Object[][] {{10, 13, true, 2}});
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void federatedSinglenodeRead() {
+		federatedRead(Types.ExecMode.SINGLE_NODE);
+	}
+
+	public void federatedRead(Types.ExecMode execMode) {
+		Types.ExecMode oldPlatform = setExecMode(execMode);
+		getAndLoadTestConfiguration(TEST_NAME);
+		setOutputBuffering(true);
+		
+		// write input matrices
+		int halfRows = rows / 2;
+		long[][] begins = new long[][] {new long[] {0, 0}, new long[] {halfRows, 0}};
+		long[][] ends = new long[][] {new long[] {halfRows, cols}, new long[] {rows, cols}};
+		// We have two matrices handled by a single federated worker
+		double[][] X1 = getRandomMatrix(halfRows, cols, 0, 1, 1, 42);
+		double[][] X2 = getRandomMatrix(halfRows, cols, 0, 1, 1, 1340);
+		writeInputMatrixWithMTD("X1", X1, false, new MatrixCharacteristics(halfRows, cols, blocksize, halfRows * cols));
+		writeInputMatrixWithMTD("X2", X2, false, new MatrixCharacteristics(halfRows, cols, blocksize, halfRows * cols));
+		// empty script name because we don't execute any script, just start the worker
+		fullDMLScriptName = "";
+		int port1 = getRandomAvailablePort();
+		int port2 = getRandomAvailablePort();
+		Thread t1 = startLocalFedWorkerThread(port1);
+		Thread t2 = startLocalFedWorkerThread(port2);
+		String host = "localhost";
+
+		MatrixObject fed = FederatedTestObjectConstructor.constructFederatedInput(
+			rows, cols, blocksize, host, begins, ends, new int[] {port1, port2},
+			new String[] {input("X1"), input("X2")}, input("X.json"));
+		writeInputFederatedWithMTD("X.json", fed, null);
+
+		try {
+			// Run reference dml script with normal matrix
+			fullDMLScriptName = SCRIPT_DIR + "functions/federated/io/" + TEST_NAME + (rowPartitioned ? "Row" : "Col")
+				+ "Reference.dml";
+			programArgs = new String[] {"-stats", "-args", input("X1"), input("X2")};
+			String refOut = runTest(null).toString();
+			
+			// Run federated
+			fullDMLScriptName = SCRIPT_DIR + "functions/federated/io/" + TEST_NAME + ".dml";
+			programArgs = new String[] {"-stats", "-args", input("X.json")};
+			String out = runTest(null).toString();
+
+			Assert.assertTrue(heavyHittersContainsString("fed_uak+"));
+			// Verify output
+			Assert.assertEquals(Double.parseDouble(refOut.split("\n")[0]),
+				Double.parseDouble(out.split("\n")[0]), 0.00001);
+		}
+		catch(Exception e) {
+			e.printStackTrace();
+			Assert.assertTrue(false);
+		}
+		finally {
+			resetExecMode(oldPlatform);
+		}
+
+		TestUtils.shutdownThreads(t1, t2);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Override default configuration with custom test configuration to ensure
+	 * scratch space and local temporary directory locations are also updated.
+	 */
+	@Override
+	protected File getConfigTemplateFile() {
+		// Instrumentation in this test's output log to show custom configuration file used for template.
+		System.out.println("This test case overrides default configuration with " + TEST_CONF_FILE.getPath());
+		return TEST_CONF_FILE;
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/test/scripts/functions/federated/io/SSLConfig.xml b/src/test/scripts/functions/federated/io/SSLConfig.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f375ba3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/scripts/functions/federated/io/SSLConfig.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+<!--
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+-->
+<root>
+    <sysds.federated.ssl>true</sysds.federated.ssl>
+</root>
\ No newline at end of file