Runtime policy enforcement is the active blocking or restriction of workload behavior during execution based on defined security rules. It matters because detection alone is not always enough when unsafe behavior needs immediate containment.
What is Runtime Policy Enforcement?
Policies may limit processes, syscalls, file access, network actions, or privilege use at runtime. This helps stop or constrain attacks that slipped past image review and admission controls.
What Runtime Policy Enforcement Commonly Supports
Common uses include live workload containment, container hardening, syscall control, and drift prevention.
Runtime Policy Enforcement vs. Alert-Only Runtime Monitoring
Runtime policy enforcement actively restricts behavior. Alert-only monitoring observes suspicious behavior but may not stop it in time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why enforce policy at runtime?
Because some attacks become damaging very quickly once the workload starts behaving unexpectedly.
Can runtime policy break legitimate apps?
Yes, if policies are too aggressive or poorly tuned, which is why staged rollout matters.
