Cloud environments are evolving quickly, with containers starting and stopping in minutes, APIs transferring data in microseconds, and AI workloads showing unpredictable behavior at runtime. In such an environment, relying on traditional 24–48-hour scanning cycles is no longer enough. Security teams need real-time visibility into what's happening in production right now, not just yesterday’s insights or theoretical risks.
This is where Upwind, a modern cloud security platform built on eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter), is redefining runtime security. In a recent episode of the Software Plaza podcast, Upwind’s Product Marketing Manager, Chris Lentria, shared in-depth how eBPF enables unprecedented runtime visibility and why this capability is now essential for cloud-native organizations.
This blog post explains what real-time visibility is, why it matters, and exactly how Upwind achieves it.
3 major runtime security challenges
Runtime security concentrates on protecting workloads during their operation, not during CI/CD or scheduled scans. However, containers and microservices change too swiftly for periodic scans to be effective. Without real-time visibility into current activity, teams overlook threats occurring at the exact moments they matter.
Software moves too fast for periodic scans
Modern cloud systems today surpass traditional scanning methods. As a result, vulnerabilities that emerge and vanish within hours can remain hidden during daily scans. Gartner reports that most 2024 cloud breaches involved runtime exploits that static tools failed to detect, underscoring the need for real-time visibility.
Static scanners generate noise, not answers
Static scanning generates massive amounts of noise without meaningful prioritization. Tens of thousands of vulnerabilities appear with no context around which are loaded, exploitable, internet-facing, or active. Teams waste time chasing false positives and theoretical risks. Without runtime insights, organizations cannot distinguish meaningful security threats from background clutter across their environments.
Compliance now requires data-level visibility
Compliance today demands real-time proof of how sensitive data flows, not just encryption or policy claims. PCI, DSS, HIPAA, and sovereignty rules require visibility into live data movement. Legacy methods like IP tables or sidecars cannot inspect Layer 7 payloads at scale, creating blind spots that modern regulations no longer tolerate.
The eBPF advantage: deep, safe, kernel-level observability
Upwind addresses these gaps using eBPF, a breakthrough Linux technology that enables safe, sandboxed programs within the kernel. This gives deep, continuous visibility without modifying kernel code. eBPF captures detailed signals from networking, processes, and applications, making it ideal for real-time runtime observability in fast-moving, cloud-native systems.
Deep observability with no performance overhead
With eBPF, Upwind monitors Layer 3–7 traffic, processes, file access, memory-loaded packages, and identity behavior, all with under 1% CPU usage. This delivers powerful observability without performance impact, allowing cloud and containerized environments to maintain scale while gaining deep, continuous insight into real production activity.
No sidecars, no kernel modules, no instability
Before eBPF, visibility required fragile or heavy-handed approaches such as IP tables, slow sidecar proxies, or dangerous kernel modules. These caused latency, scaling issues, or risked OS crashes. eBPF removes these trade-offs, providing kernel-level visibility with user-space safety, enabling teams to gain deep insights without compromising stability or performance.
Portable and future-proof
eBPF is portable across kernels, clusters, and large-scale deployments, making it ideal for multi-cloud, container, and AI ecosystems. Its flexibility enables consistent security across diverse infrastructures. Upwind’s full eBPF-based architecture creates a sustainable, future-proof foundation for true real-time runtime protection in modern cloud-native environments.
How Upwind delivers real-time visibility
The runtime exploit funnel
Upwind provides real-time visibility by integrating runtime context, cloud inventory, scanner results, and traffic insights into a single live view. Instead of separate data streams, Upwind combines them into valuable intelligence that identifies active risks, allowing security teams to focus on what matters most in production environments.
Their runtime exploit funnel narrows overwhelming vulnerability lists to just a few critical issues. By analyzing memory-loaded packages, process activity, internet exposure, known exploits, and data types, it reduces thousands of findings to three to five genuine risks. This allows teams to concentrate on threats that truly matter.
Unified shift left + shift right approach
Combine both shift-left and shift-right security to scan code from GitHub/GitLab, enhance results with runtime context, forecast deployment impact, and suggest clear actions: proceed, deploy cautiously, or block. This integrated approach prevents risky releases without overwhelming developers, ensuring safer production environments.
Active threat storytelling: turning chaos into clarity
Convert thousands of low-level events, such as cryptocurrency mining, reverse shells, lateral movement, or suspicious identities, into summaries with timelines, root cause analysis, remediation steps, and impact details. These contextual narratives greatly simplify incident response by clearly showing what’s happening and how to fix it.
Instant deployment, same-day value
Upwind deploys rapidly through agentless scanners, providing visibility on day one. eBPF sensors activate immediately for real-time insights without heavy agents or architectural modifications. There are no restarts or downtime required. Customers like Ex.co praise Upwind’s quick onboarding and instant, actionable security intelligence.
3 places where runtime security matters the most
AI workloads
AI workloads are unpredictable, with quick decisions and dynamic data streams that static scanners can't track. Runtime visibility is vital for understanding behavior, detecting anomalies, and protecting sensitive data. Upwind monitors AI systems, uncovering risks that traditional tools often miss in fast-changing AI environments.
Kubernetes environments
Kubernetes breaches typically stem from overly permissive access, runtime drift, or concealed misconfigurations. Upwind offers real-time visibility into pod activity, suspicious API calls, identity misuse, data leaks, and lateral movement routes. This insight enables teams to defend Kubernetes environments against hidden threats that build-time scans might miss.
Compliance in motion
To maintain continuous compliance, organizations need real-time visibility into how sensitive data moves across various systems. Since data flows constantly, relying on periodic audits is insufficient. Upwind’s eBPF-based visibility allows teams to track live data paths, satisfying contemporary regulatory standards, enhancing overall security, and minimizing compliance blind spots.
Final thoughts: real-time security isn’t optional, it’s the foundation
Cloud security starts at runtime. It’s not negotiable anymore.
While shift-left, scanning, and policy-as-code are important, none of these can replace seeing exactly what’s happening right now, at runtime, inside the kernel. And today, the only feasible way to do that safely, scalably, and deeply is through eBPF.
Upwind brings all of this together into a platform that removes noise, speeds up response, strengthens compliance, secures AI workloads, and protects cloud-native systems from emerging threats. For teams ready to modernize their runtime security approach, Upwind’s eBPF-powered model represents the future, available today.
This blog is based on webinar with Chris Lentricchia, Product Marketing Manager at Upwind. You can watch the full video here.
