Real-Time Runtime Insights Underpin Cloud Security

In cloud environments, the term "runtime" often triggers thoughts of traditional workloads — applications running on virtual machines or servers. But modern applications don't operate like they did a decade ago.

With the cloud, applications are highly distributed, spanning services like virtual private clouds (VPCs), Amazon S3 buckets, relational database service (RDS) instances, and even third-party systems like identity management services. This complexity is why the concept of runtime insights in cloud security is so important.

When I talk about cloud security using runtime insights, I'm not just talking about tracking what's happening within a container or an application. I'm referring to real-time insights that span the entire cloud ecosystem, connecting every action, identity, event, and change that touches the organization's workloads.

This is how cloud-native applications function in the real world — constantly communicating, updating, and evolving. And that's where the value of real-time runtime insights in cloud security comes into play. Every runtime action logged in real time is a potential security event, and these insights are what give security teams the upper hand in detecting and responding to threats. Like bioluminescence in nature, real-time runtime insights in cloud security illuminate what's happening in the dark, making hidden threats visible and actionable.

Why Real-Time Runtime Insights Matter

Focusing on real-time for runtime insights embraces the urgent nature of cloud environments where security attacks happen faster than ever before. The cloud doesn't afford the luxury of time previously available in on-premises environments, when teams had minutes or even hours to detect and respond to threats.

In the cloud, everything is accelerated. Detecting threats needs to happen in seconds, and remediation must follow within minutes — not hours or days.

And what about preventative versus detective controls? Cloud security isn't just about stopping threats before they happen; it's about understanding that attacks that get past prevention controls are inevitable.

Preventative controls are foundational — they're your helmet when you're skiing down the cybersecurity slopes. You wouldn't hit the slopes without it, just like you wouldn't deploy an app without making sure basic security hygiene is in place. But just like a helmet won't stop you from falling, preventative controls won't stop every threat.

You have to assume failure, assume that at some point an attack will get past prevention controls. And that's where detection capabilities with real-time insights step in. If you can't detect an attack or a misstep the moment it happens, you've already lost.

Preventative controls provide a sense of safety, but they're inherently backward-looking. They focus on stopping what could happen, not what is happening right now. And with cloud attacks happening in seconds, the only way to stay ahead and know where to focus security investigations is to look at runtime insights in real time.

Prioritizing Active Risks

Runtime insights empower security teams to zero in on the most pressing threats. By compartmentalizing risks based on which resources are currently exposed — whether across a single node or a sprawling cloud environment — security teams can prioritize active risks with confidence.

With this live data continuously feeding into analysts' investigation workflows, they can easily assess what processes are running on affected nodes and work from a detailed and real-time view of the risk across the company's cloud ecosystem.

This dynamic view cuts through the noise that is often so pervasive in security operations, so teams can focus their time and attention on what truly matters. In cybersecurity, where timing is everything, runtime insights offer a streamlined approach to protecting cloud environments, helping teams make quick, informed decisions during investigations.

Real-Time Insights in Action: Container Security

One area where real-time runtime insights shine is in container security. Containers, by nature, are ephemeral and constantly changing. Traditional security tools that focus on static analysis or scanning images before deployment simply can't keep up with the dynamic nature of containers. Real-time runtime insights allow security teams to continuously monitor container activity to catch anomalies and threats as they happen.

For instance, if an attacker gains access to a container and starts executing commands, a real-time system will immediately detect these actions. Whether it's an unauthorized process spawning in a container or a configuration change that opens a vulnerability, real-time runtime insights empower security teams to prioritize their efforts and act fast.

In a world where cloud attacks are automated and lightning-fast, real-time detection is no longer a luxury; it's a necessity. The ability to see what's happening in the cloud environment at any given moment — and prioritize based on the subset of material risks that occur at runtime — organizations can calm the alert noise in their cloud environments and dramatically reduce risk factors.

In cloud environments, where threats can escalate in seconds, real-time runtime insights provide the agility organizations need to keep up with threats and safeguard their cloud investments.

By Alex Lawrence, Field CISO, Sysdig

About the Author

Alex Lawrence is the field CISO at Sysdig. He has an extensive history working in the data center as well as with the world of DevOps. Alex has spent most of his time working in the world of open source software on identity, authentication, user management, and security. Alex has also studied bioluminescence and fungus at length, leading his "All I Know About Cybersecurity I Learned from Fungus" presentation at CloudNativeSecurityCon 2024.