In our previous blog, we defined the main challenges of traditional Application Security:
- Lack of insight into the real, running application
- Intermittent protection from periodic scans (e.g., SAST, DAST, SCA)
- Limited coverage across the DevOps lifecycle
- Complexity of use
Naturally, any new generation of AppSec must solve all these challenges. After extensive industry experimentation, one approach has been proven up to the task: runtime application security powered by eBPF.
By establishing a programmable, runtime eBPF interface with the Linux operating system, modern AppSec solutions gain deep, continuous visibility into all applications, API, and micro-service processes as they actually run. This approach offers distinct, critical advantages..
Traditional AppSec vs. Runtime AppSec
Inside-Out Observability
Traditional security relies on “Outside-In” visibility: watching network traffic (like a WAF), simulating attacks (DAST), or scanning static code (SAST, SCA). These methods can only infer behavior from the outside, often missing the true logic paths and origination of vulnerabilities.
Inside-Out Observability changes that. Runtime security is natively connected to the process it protects. It sees invoked APIs, opened libraries, and loaded components at the moment they happen. This direct, internal view delivers highly accurate, real-time understanding of the application’s logic and architecture—including vulnerability and attack flows that outside-in tools simply can’t see.
Always-Active, Continuous Security
Traditional security tools operate intermittently. Static code scans and attack simulations run at scheduled intervals, leaving long gaps in which applications remain unobserved and unprotected.
Always-Active Security ensures that detection and protection never stop. Runtime security continuously monitors each application process throughout its entire lifespan. Every running entity is observed and protected in real time, reducing the window of exposure to virtually zero.
Dynamic Binding to Application Processes
Unlike traditional tools that remain external and disconnected, runtime security dynamically binds to each application, micro-service, or API process the moment it starts—and stays connected until the process ends.
This dynamic binding makes security part of the running process itself, ensuring that protection is always present and directly aware of the application’s actual behavior. In contrast, intermittent scanners or perimeter-based tools (like SAST, DAST, SCA, WAF) exist outside the process they’re supposed to protect, leading to blind spots and incomplete coverage.
Persistent Protection
Because runtime security dynamically connects to every running entity, it provides consistent detection and protection across an entire application environment.
No matter how many microservices or APIs are deployed, each gets its own dedicated security presence. Nothing is left unsecured—even as environments scale or change dynamically.
Autonomous Operation
Traditional AppSec often demands extensive setup, tuning, scheduling of scans, and ongoing manual effort. Each new service or application change can mean reconfiguration, retesting, and revalidation.
eBPF-based runtime security is designed to be autonomous. Once deployed, it attaches automatically to running processes and begins observing events without extensive configuration. It requires minimal human intervention, letting security teams focus on remediating real issues instead of constantly managing tools.
Complete DevSecOps Coverage
Traditional static security tools primarily cover only part of the Dev phase—specifically unit and build testing. They stop short of providing runtime visibility in later stages.
Runtime security fills that gap, delivering true DevSecOps coverage:
- In the Test Runtime phase (pre-production), it detects real vulnerabilities in running code, so developers can remediate before deployment.
- In the Ops phase (production), it continues monitoring, detecting vulnerabilities that might be exploited and blocking real attacks in real time.
This continuous protection aligns with modern CI/CD pipelines and cloud-native architectures where code is deployed frequently and runs in dynamic environments.
Detection and Protection
Traditional AppSec solutions are largely limited to detection—and only during development. Static analysis (SAST, SCA) and dynamic testing (DAST) can find some vulnerabilities, but they don’t protect the application once it's live. That leaves production systems exposed to real-world attacks.
Runtime security changes the equation by delivering both detection and protection across the entire application lifecycle.
- During development and testing, it identifies real vulnerabilities in the actual running environment, reducing false positives and enabling faster, more accurate remediation before deployment.
- In production, it provides active, real-time protection by detecting and blocking attacks as they happen—reducing risk without slowing down deployments.
This dual capability closes the gap left by traditional tools, ensuring applications are not only secure by design but also secure in operation.
The Bottom Line
Traditional AppSec was designed for a different era—one with monolithic apps, predictable release cycles, and static infrastructure.
Today's dynamic, distributed, cloud-native environments demand a new approach. eBPF-powered Runtime AppSec delivers continuous, accurate, in-process protection with minimal operational overhead.
Runtime security isn’t just an improvement—it’s the new standard for security what actually matters: your running applications in the real world.
