Implementing Runtime Threat Detection

Implementing Runtime Threat Detection

Runtime detection identifies active threats in running containers through behavioral analysis. System call monitoring forms the foundation, detecting suspicious activities like unexpected file access or network connections. Runtime detection can identify zero-day exploits and living-off-the-land attacks that signature-based detection misses.

File integrity monitoring detects unauthorized modifications to critical files within containers. While containers should be immutable, runtime compromises might modify configuration files or inject malicious code. Comparing runtime file states against known-good baselines identifies these modifications. Integration with admission controllers can prevent deployment of modified containers.

Process behavior analysis establishes normal process trees for containerized applications. Deviations like unexpected child processes or abnormal process arguments indicate potential compromises. This analysis must account for legitimate variations like worker process scaling or garbage collection. Allowlisting known-good behaviors reduces false positives.