Runtime Security Tools: A Comprehensive Guide for 2025

What Is A Runtime Security Tool?

While Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and hardening are crucial security processes for maintaining a strong security posture, applications are most vulnerable during runtime, where unexpected threats can emerge. CSPM tools continuously scan cloud environments to detect misconfigurations, enforce compliance, and prioritize risks based on potential impact. However, runtime security becomes essential for addressing dynamic threats. Runtime security tools provide continuous monitoring and protection when applications are actively running, detecting and neutralizing potential threats in real-time. These tools analyze application behavior, network activity, and system calls to identify anomalies that may indicate a security breach, offering an additional layer of defense against evolving cyber threats that might bypass traditional security measures28.

CSPM (Cloud Security Posture Management) & KSPM (Kubernetes Security Posture Management)

CSPMs are like cloud guardians. They watch over cloud configurations and Kubernetes clusters, constantly looking for misconfigurations or vulnerabilities that could be exploited.

Policy Enforcement

Policies act as the backbone of security, but they’re only effective if they’re enforced. This category of tools makes sure applications play by the rules. They monitor application behavior, track user activity, and enforce security policies to prevent unauthorized actions or access.

Cloud Data Resilience

Data is the lifeblood of any business, and protecting it in the cloud is essential. Tools that keep sensitive data safe focus on data integrity, availability, and confidentiality. They ensure that data breaches or losses are minimized.

Workload Protection

Workloads can run anywhere these days: on-premises, in the cloud, or in hybrid environments. Workload protection tools should provide a consistent layer of security across all these environments. They monitor for anomalies, detect threats, and respond to incidents to keep applications and their underlying infrastructure secure.

Runtime security tools are a critical component of a robust security strategy. They bridge the gap between static security measures and the dynamic nature of running applications, providing an adaptive defense against modern threats.

How Do Runtime Security Tools Work?

Runtime security tools constantly observe what’s happening inside applications, looking for anything out of the ordinary. They build a profile of “normal” behavior, then flag any deviations as potential threats. If the application suddenly starts making a lot of unusual calls to external servers or trying to access files it shouldn’t, the runtime security tool will raise a red flag.

These tools don’t just passively observe, though. They actively enforce security policies, stopping malicious actions in their tracks. They do this by analyzing three key areas: application behavior, network traffic, and system calls.

Application behavior analysis involves tracking everything an application does. This includes the files it accesses, the data it processes, and the network connections it establishes. Obtaining a thorough understanding of typical network behavior enables the tool to identify potential vulnerabilities or detect unusual patterns that may signal a security breach.

Finally, system call analysis examines the low-level interactions applications have with the operating system. This can reveal attempts to access sensitive files, execute unauthorized commands, or escalate privileges.

The effectiveness of runtime security tools depends on their ability to accurately identify anomalies and respond appropriately. A well-configured tool will serve as a cybersecurity safeguard, providing real-time protection and adaptive defense against a wide range of threats.

What are the Core Features of Runtime Security Tools?

Real-time threat detection isn’t just about catching malware – it’s about identifying suspicious activity the instant it happens. While that’s critical, relying solely on signature-based detection is not sufficient to stop many threats.

That’s where anomaly detection comes in. These tools can identify and flag unusual behavior in applications by analyzing their typical patterns, enabling detection of both known and unknown anomalies.

However, detection alone isn’t enough. Runtime security tools need to act, and that’s a job for dynamic policy enforcement. These tools automatically adjust security policies based on real-time threats and vulnerabilities.

These tools aren’t islands; they need to integrate with the organization’s existing security ecosystem. Integration with SIEM, firewalls, and other security tools allows for a more comprehensive view of potential threats and enables faster, more coordinated responses.

And let’s not forget about accountability. Detailed logging and reporting are essential for auditing, compliance, and incident response. Without them, it’s like trying to solve a mystery without any clues. Finally, these tools need to be able to scale with the business. As applications grow and evolve, your security needs will too.

Runtime security tools are more than just a box to tick on a security checklist; they’re a vital part of a proactive, layered defense strategy. Choosing the right tools and understanding their capabilities is necessary for staying ahead of malicious actors.

The Top Runtime Security Tools by Category

Policy Enforcement

Open Policy Agent (OPA)

Open Source

OPA is an open-source policy engine that enforces granular and unified policies across diverse cloud-native environments. Its declarative policy language, Rego, allows organizations to define and enforce rules consistently throughout their technology stack. Decoupling policy decisions from application logic enables OPA to enforce security, compliance, and operational policies in real-time, resulting in a consistent protection framework for effective management of complex infrastructures.

Kyverno

Open Source

Kyverno simplifies policy enforcement within Kubernetes clusters by leveraging native Kubernetes tools and YAML configurations. It excels in validating, mutating, and generating resource configurations to enforce security and compliance policies. Integrated seamlessly with admission control, Kyverno ensures that all resources adhere to predefined rules, empowering organizations to maintain a secure Kubernetes ecosystem without introducing additional complexity.

Trivy

Open Source

While primarily known as a vulnerability and compliance scanner, Trivy plays a supportive role in policy enforcement by identifying misconfigurations in IaC templates, Kubernetes resources, and dependencies. Its integration with compliance standards like CIS benchmarks provides organizations with visibility into potential policy violations. Though Trivy focuses on detection rather than direct enforcement, its insights are invaluable for building and maintaining a compliant cloud-native environment.

Kubewarden

Open Source

Kubewarden redefines policy enforcement in Kubernetes by using WebAssembly, enabling developers to write policies in languages like Rust or Go. This approach provides flexibility and portability, allowing policies to be consistently enforced across different environments. Acting as a dynamic admission controller, Kubewarden validates and potentially modifies resources in real time, ensuring compliance and security policies are actively enforced at every stage of deployment.

KubeArmor

Open Source

KubeArmor delivers a granular approach to runtime security by enforcing system-level policies using Linux Security Modules. Unlike traditional solutions, it controls processes, file access, and network activity across containers, pods, virtual machines, and bare metal servers. KubeArmor’s deep focus on enforcing real-time policies for building a secure, compliant runtime environment for cloud-native applications.

Runtime Event Monitoring Falco

Open Source

Falco stands out as a top-tier open-source solution for runtime threat detection in containerized applications and Kubernetes environments. Falco enables tailored security solutions through its customizable rules, allowing it to respond to the distinct requirements of each workload. Seamlessly integrating with existing workflows, Falco is a CNCF graduated project, ensuring strong community support and a library of pre-built rules.

Tetragon

Open Source

Tetragon is an eBPF-based runtime monitoring and enforcement tool. Tetragon provides real-time insights into container behavior without compromising performance. It goes beyond threat detection by actively enforcing policies to neutralize potential risks as they emerge. This proactive approach allows Tetragon to contain threats before they have a chance to escalate.

Sysdig

Commercial

Sysdig Secure provides a Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP), combining vulnerability scanning, posture management, and runtime threat detection. Built on the foundation of Falco, Sysdig delivers real-time visibility into active workloads, enabling quick detection and mitigation of suspicious activity. Sysdig emphasizes actionable insights and streamlined workflows.

Sweet Security

Commercial

Sweet Security leverages a commercial Cloud Native Detection and Response platform to unify threat detection and response across applications, workloads, and infrastructure. Its strength lies in identifying identity-based threats, managing vulnerabilities, and dramatically reducing incident resolution times. Sweet Security helps organizations simplify their security operations by consolidating insights and automating workflows.

Rad Security

Commercial

RAD Security belongs to the category of Cloud Native Detection and Response tools. The platform works with advanced behavioral fingerprinting to detect zero-day threats in both runtime environments and the software supply chain. Real-time monitoring, coupled with cloud-native identity insights and AI-driven remediation guidance, ensures accelerated threat response. Rad Security provides a security framework for minimizing false positives and delivering actionable insights.

Upwind

Commercial

Upwind specializes in real-time threat detection and response for cloud-native applications, particularly in Kubernetes environments. Its lightweight eBPF agent continuously monitors workloads for anomalies, stopping malicious processes in their tracks. Prioritizing vulnerabilities in real-time allows organizations to concentrate on the most critical threats, delivering a combination of visibility and security across cloud platforms.

Workload Protection / Attack Prevention

Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud

Commercial

Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma Cloud delivers workload protection by combining advanced machine learning and behavioral analysis to detect and prevent threats in real time. Its runtime monitoring scrutinizes processes and network traffic, enabling the swift identification and mitigation of malicious activity before it impacts workloads.

Aqua Security

Commercial

Aqua Security is a leader in workload defense for containerized and cloud-native applications. Its integrated approach includes pre-runtime scanning, which uncovers vulnerabilities in application images, host systems, and infrastructure configurations. During runtime, Aqua Security employs profiling and anomaly detection to block unauthorized activity, safeguarding workloads with policy-driven protections, secure secrets management, and comprehensive compliance monitoring.

Orca Security

Commercial

Orca Security focuses on simplifying workload protection in complex cloud environments. Orca offers Cloud Detection and Response (CDR) features that enable organizations to detect, investigate, and respond to cloud attacks in progress.

Checkpoint Cloud Guard

Commercial

Checkpoint Cloud Guard emphasizes comprehensive threat prevention with workload protection capabilities. It leverages advanced security policies and zero-day threat detection to neutralize sophisticated attacks before they compromise your cloud applications. Its automation and seamless integration across platforms ensure consistent and scalable protection for workloads in dynamic environments.

Falcon Cloud Security (CrowdStrike)

Commercial

Falcon Cloud Security brings CrowdStrike’s endpoint protection to the cloud, offering advanced workload attack prevention. Its machine learning-driven threat detection identifies malicious activity in real time, while behavioral analytics provide proactive defenses against evolving threats. Integrated across major cloud platforms, Falcon facilitates workload protection, maintenance of compliance and incident response readiness.

ARMO Behavioral Cloud Application Detection and Response

ARMO Platform is a revolutionary cloud security solution that unifies workload protection, KSPM, CADR, and CSPM into a single solution. Driven by eBPF technology and built over Kubescape, ARMO captures and analyzes real-time application behavior within cloud-native environments. This granular insight, coupled with contextual data from Kubernetes events, CI/CD pipelines, cloud infrastructure, and container images, empowers ARMO to deliver unparalleled security from posture management and hardening on the left to runtime security on the right.

ARMO Platform expertly identifies and prioritizes the most pressing security vulnerabilities, effectively reducing alert fatigue caused by false positives. ARMO’s runtime-powered detection and response capabilities actively identify and respond to evolving threats. It safeguards cloud deployments of all types, including managed, on-premises, and air-gapped environments. This unified approach ensures protection across the entire cloud security lifecycle.

Learn more by signing up for a free demo of ARMO today.