Imagine trying to defend a moving target by only studying a still image of it. That’s what most cloud security strategies look like today. Tools that scan for misconfigurations or check policy alignment are helpful, but they don’t see what’s unfolding in real time. And in the cloud, real time is everything.
Security teams are often asked to build a forward-looking defense using backward-facing tools. It’s time to flip the script: Start with runtime security.
To get a comprehensive look at why runtime security is the foundation of a resilient cloud defense strategy, download the full white paper.
The cloud has changed, and so should your security stack
Cloud-native applications have rewritten the rules of infrastructure. Containers spin up in seconds, Kubernetes orchestrates millions of changes per day, and serverless compute resources can vanish after milliseconds. That agility drives innovation — but it also creates blind spots.
Legacy endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools were built for physical machines. Cloud security posture management (CSPM) tools were built for basic cloud visibility. Neither was built to monitor dynamic, ephemeral environments in real time.
Here’s what’s changed:
- Ephemeral workloads: Containers and serverless functions don’t wait around to be scanned.
- Automated attacks: Threat actors use AI and automation to move faster than ever.
- Expanding attack surface: APIs, microservices, and multi-cloud environments increase complexity — and risk.
With threat actors automating reconnaissance and exploiting vulnerabilities in under 10 minutes, your security strategy needs to move faster than static scans.
Why static posture falls short
Most organizations start their cloud security journey with CSPM and “shift left” initiatives — scanning for basic misconfigurations, and enforcing compliance. These are essential practices, but they focus on what might go wrong, not what is going wrong.
Let’s break down why posture-led strategies struggle to stop real threats:
- CSPM can’t see real-time behavior: It catches risky configurations, but not active exploits or lateral movement.
- EDR doesn’t fit the cloud: Traditional EDR lacks visibility into short-lived containers and distributed services.
- Shift-left is too early-stage: Once a service is live, new risks emerge — many unrelated to the original code.
Runtime security: The missing piece
Runtime security is all about visibility into what’s happening now. It’s the only way to detect live attacks, flag anomalous behavior, and trigger rapid response.
What does runtime actually mean in a cloud-native context?
- Continuous monitoring: See every workload, every user action, every system change, and more, all in real time.
- Threat correlation: Combine identity, workload, and network signals to uncover suspicious patterns.
- Automated response: Block malicious behavior as it unfolds, not after the fact.
Rather than scanning for potential missteps, runtime security shows what an attacker is actually doing — whether that’s privilege escalation inside a container or lateral movement across cloud accounts.
Stopping an attack in motion
Let’s say an attacker exploits a zero-day vulnerability and gains access to a Kubernetes pod. With legacy tools, that breach might go undetected for hours, if it’s noticed at all.
With runtime security in place, here’s what happens instead:
- Initial detection: The attacker’s anomalous command is flagged instantly.
- Contextual investigation: Security sees the user identity, affected resources, and attack path.
- Automated response: The compromised container is isolated, and credentials are rotated.
This isn’t hypothetical. It’s how modern cloud-native application protection platforms (CNAPPs) stop attacks in real time, reducing mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to respond (MTTR) from hours or days to minutes.
The ROI of runtime
Security that works is security that pays off. When you lead with runtime security, the business benefits are tangible:
- Faster detection: Threats are identified as they happen, not during a weekly scan.
- Lower costs: Incidents resolved in minutes avoid costly downtime and breach recovery.
- Better resource allocation: Real threats are prioritized over noise, freeing teams to focus on what matters.
In fact, companies using runtime-driven CNAPPs have cut detection time to seconds and saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in breach-related costs.
Stop looking backward — secure what’s happening now
Let’s be clear: Posture management and prevention aren’t going away — and they shouldn’t. But they’re no longer the center of a strong security program. They’re supporting players.
To truly defend the cloud, your strategy needs to reflect how the cloud works: fast, dynamic, and constantly evolving.
Start with runtime. Then layer on posture.
This layered, runtime-first approach doesn’t just stop attacks. It creates a resilient, forward-looking security program that scales with your cloud journey.
In the cloud, seconds matter. Static scans and reactive security leave your organization vulnerable to threats that don’t wait. Runtime security changes the game by giving you real-time visibility and control, so you can detect and respond before damage is done.
Want to dive deeper into how to implement a runtime-first strategy?