Runtime protection is a critical defense measure during application and workload execution. Traditional security methods concentrate on vulnerabilities before or after an attack, but in contrast, runtime protection actively safeguards systems while they are running. This means that detecting and stopping malicious activities can occur in real time.
Runtime Protection Defined
Runtime protection means monitoring and securing applications and systems while they are actively running. It prevents threats such as code injection, memory manipulation, and other attacks happening during an application or process execution.
Runtime protection relies on an established baseline to observe the behavior of running processes and detect activities that deviate from normal operations. If a runtime protection solution detects an unusual behavior, it immediately terminates the process, preventing the attack or mitigating the damage. Moreover, it achieves this feat without disrupting the application or system.
How Does Runtime Protection Work?
Runtime protection works by continuously observing and analyzing the behavior of applications during their execution. Here are the key components:
- Behavior Monitoring: Runtime protection tools track the behavior of processes, looking for anomalies that may point to an attack. For example, if an application tries to access memory but behaves unusually, the system will flag it.
- Real-Time Threat Detection: Instead of relying on predefined attack signatures, runtime protection identifies and reacts to suspicious activities in real time. That involves recognizing patterns of abnormal behavior, like unauthorized attempts to escalate privileges or inject malicious code into running processes.
- Threat Mitigation: Once it detects a potential threat, runtime protection solutions can take immediate action. Blocking malicious activity, stopping the affected process, or isolating the compromised application to prevent further damage all fall within the range of their capabilities.
- Minimal Performance Impact: Since runtime protection operates in real time, it must have a minimal performance overhead, preventing attacks without causing noticeable delays or interruptions to the application.
Runtime Protection vs. Traditional Security Measures
Traditional security methods, such as firewalls and antivirus software, primarily aim to prevent attacks before they occur or to detect them after they have happened. In contrast, runtime protection offers active defense during an attack.
- Runtime Protection vs. Antivirus Software: Antivirus solutions typically detect and remove malware either during a scan or after the malware has been installed. Conversely, runtime protection defends against threats while threat actors are attempting to execute them. That makes it a faster and more proactive solution.
- Runtime Protection vs. Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS): An IPS monitors network traffic to spot malicious activities. While it does block attacks, it does not specifically protect individual applications. Unlike IPS, runtime protection helps you continuously defend specific applications and processes.
Examples of Runtime Protection in Use
Banking applications provide a perfect illustration of the benefits of using runtime protection. It would allow you to prevent malware from exploiting a vulnerability in the app’s code. A runtime protection tool can detect and block malicious behavior as malware tries to exploit the flaw during execution, stopping the attack before it compromises any data.
In another scenario, an enterprise system could use runtime protection to prevent a privilege escalation attack. If an attacker attempts to gain elevated permissions during an application’s execution, runtime protection would detect this anomaly and block the process, preventing unauthorized access.
A Crucial Component of Modern Cybersecurity Operations
Runtime protection should be a crucial component of any business’s modern cybersecurity operations. By monitoring and defending active applications during execution, it enables teams to detect and block attacks before they can cause harm. This approach adds a critical layer of security in the contemporary threat landscape.