In a current episode of the Dangerous Enterprise “Snake Oilers” podcast, Alex Lawrence, Director of Cloud Safety Technique at Sysdig, sat down with host Patrick Grey to debate the rising want for real-time runtime safety in trendy cloud-native environments — and the way Sysdig is stepping as much as meet that problem.
From the evolution of runtime safety to Sysdig’s newest improvements with AI, the dialog coated a number of floor. Right here’s a recap of the important thing takeaways.
Constructed for real-time detection in ephemeral environments
Conventional safety instruments typically concentrate on preventative and detective controls — however in dynamic, ephemeral cloud environments, it’s the real-time detection that issues most. “Issues seem and disappear inside seconds. So, you must monitor and safe them in actual time,” says Alex.
Sysdig was purpose-built for Kubernetes, containers, and the cloud-native stack. As an alternative of counting on conventional community instrumentation (which doesn’t exist within the cloud), Sysdig screens system calls—essentially the most elementary layer of Linux interplay — to ship visibility and safety.
Why system calls are the brand new packets
Within the pre-cloud period, visibility meant capturing packets. Instruments like Wireshark and Snort had been the gold normal. However in cloud-native environments, that layer has disappeared.
“Within the cloud, the system name is the brand new packet. It’s essentially the most dependable supply of reality.”
Alex Lawrence
Sysdig makes use of eBPF to seize these system calls in a contemporary, performant approach. Whether or not it’s detecting a shell opening, a suspicious file entry, or a rogue course of, Sysdig supplies the low-level visibility wanted for sturdy runtime safety.
Agent-based detection delivers deep visibility
Sysdig deploys as an agent — generally through a Kubernetes DaemonSet—and integrates into present DevOps pipelines. As soon as in place, it captures a full vary of telemetry, giving safety groups visibility into every thing from container escapes to privilege escalation makes an attempt.
EDR for Linux? Sure, and extra
Sysdig typically attracts comparisons to EDR for Linux, and rightly so. It brings endpoint-level insights to a world that’s typically neglected by conventional safety instruments. Alex says, “Linux runs the web—and sure, it additionally runs a number of coin miners. Actual-time detection is crucial.”
Sysdig is widespread with monetary providers and different enterprises working vital cloud-native purposes.
AI-powered insights with Sysdig
As with many safety platforms, Sysdig is embracing AI to assist clients take care of the flood of telemetry. However slightly than simply bolt on an LLM, Sysdig constructed Sysdig Sage™ — an AI assistant educated by itself APIs and telemetry construction. “AI is fixing the information lake downside. We’re utilizing it to floor a very powerful occasions in seconds,” Alex says.
With Sysdig Sage, safety groups can ask pure language questions like:
- “What are the highest occasions on this host?”
- “What’s the foundation reason behind this incident?”
- “What associated alerts ought to I concentrate on?”
This helps cut back time-to-detection and accelerates response in environments the place containers typically reside lower than 60 seconds.
Why Sysdig issues in a CNAPP world
Sysdig’s capabilities match inside the broader Cloud-Native Utility Safety Platform (CNAPP) house. Its real-time runtime detection, mixed with AI-assisted evaluation, makes it a strong instrument for securing trendy infrastructure.
Whether or not you’re working Kubernetes, investigating odd habits on Linux hosts, or trying to increase your SOC’s capabilities with AI, Sysdig is value a severe look.
Hearken to the complete interview
Need to hear the complete dialog? Try the episode or seek for “Dangerous Enterprise” wherever you get your podcasts.
