diff --git a/hack/local-up-cluster.sh b/hack/local-up-cluster.sh
index a1b662709d6..1ff8f326449 100755
--- a/hack/local-up-cluster.sh
+++ b/hack/local-up-cluster.sh
@@ -458,8 +458,8 @@ function start_apiserver {
                 AUTH_ARGS="--token=system:admin/system:masters"
             fi
         else
-            # default to use basic authentication
-            AUTH_ARGS="--username=admin --password=admin"
+            # default to use certificate authentication
+            AUTH_ARGS="--client-key=${CERT_DIR}/client-admin.key --client-certificate=${CERT_DIR}/client-admin.crt"
         fi
     fi
 }