In an era where software evolves at lightning speed, security must adapt in real-time to counter ... More
The modern software economy thrives on speed. With development teams pushing code to production daily—powered by microservices, open-source libraries, and even AI-generated code—the pace of innovation has become relentless. But as software accelerates, security is showing signs of strain. The gap between vulnerability discovery and exploit has narrowed dramatically, and traditional tools are struggling to keep up.
In fact, the average Time to Exploit (TTE) for new vulnerabilities has dropped from 63 hours to just 22 minutes in recent years. This acceleration has exposed the limitations of long-standing security practices like scanning, patching, and perimeter-based defenses, which were never designed for the current tempo of change.
The Short Shelf Life of Patching
For decades, security teams relied on a straightforward formula: find a vulnerability, patch it, and move on. That model made sense in a slower era of waterfall development and monthly release cycles. But today’s applications are fluid, decentralized, and constantly evolving.
Developers often pull from public code repositories, integrate third-party APIs, and lean heavily on auto-generated code. In many cases, even identifying what’s running in production is a challenge. This lack of visibility leaves defenders scrambling—especially when attackers can scan, weaponize, and deploy exploits in less time than it takes to triage an alert.
I spoke to Daniel Schechter, co-founder and CEO of Miggo Security. He shared, “‘Patch-and-pray’ was the default mode of survival for security teams for years — identify a CVE, send to dev and wait for them to fix the issue, all while hoping attackers don’t get there first.” In an ecosystem where visibility is fragmented and ownership is blurred, relying solely on patches is like trying to fix a moving train—while it’s already under attack.
Runtime Defense: A Shift in Strategy
To adapt to this new reality, some organizations are shifting toward runtime application protection—embedding defenses directly into the execution layer of software. Instead of waiting for a vulnerability to be fixed, these systems aim to detect and block malicious behavior as it happens, even before a patch is available.
At the core of this approach is the concept of continuous observability. Unlike traditional tools that rely on static code analysis or infrastructure configurations, runtime defenses trace how services communicate, how data flows, and where attackers could move if a foothold is gained.
One example of this emerging category is Application Detection and Response, which provides live telemetry from inside applications to detect attack paths and enforce real-time controls. These platforms monitor software behavior dynamically, allowing security teams to understand what’s actually happening—not just what was intended.
A Case Study in Cloud Complexity
A recent incident involving a critical vulnerability in a popular cloud load balancing service highlighted the importance of runtime visibility. The issue allowed attackers to exploit normal-looking behaviors to bypass authentication controls, affecting thousands of cloud-native applications.
The vulnerability went undetected by many traditional tools because it didn’t involve obvious misconfigurations or known signatures. Instead, it relied on subtle shifts in behavior—something only trace-based monitoring systems were able to catch. The event underscored a broader truth: security assumptions can break silently in complex environments, and the burden of detection increasingly rests with the application layer.
Proactive vs. Reactive Security
What makes runtime protection compelling is its potential to flip the traditional model. Rather than focusing solely on detection and remediation, runtime strategies emphasize containment and resilience. If a threat actor can be blocked from moving laterally or exfiltrating data—even before a development team reviews the code—then risk is reduced in a much more meaningful way.
This is not about replacing secure development practices or patching pipelines. Instead, it’s about complementing them with guardrails that work at machine speed. In many ways, it mirrors the evolution seen in endpoint and network security, where reactive logging gave way to real-time detection and response.
Making It Work in the Real World
For runtime protection to succeed, it needs to be as frictionless as possible. Security leaders repeatedly cite developer resistance as a major barrier to adoption. Any tool that slows down delivery or requires deep integration into workflows risks being bypassed.
One approach is to prioritize plug-and-play architectures—monitoring applications as they run without requiring code changes or complex configurations. This puts the emphasis on fast deployment, low maintenance, and actionable insights.
Itai Goldman, co-founder and CTO of Miggo, stressed the value in having a runtime lens into how an application truly behaves — across services, APIs and even third-party dependencies.
Industry Momentum and Investment
The growing interest in runtime application protection is reflected in recent industry investments. Miggo Security just announced a $17 million Series A funding round led by SYN Ventures, with participation from existing investors YL Ventures, Runtime Ventures, and CCL. The funding aims to accelerate the development of real-time application defense technologies that can operate without relying on traditional patch cycles.
Such investments underscore the market's recognition of the need for innovative approaches to application security that align with the rapid pace of modern software development.
Looking Ahead
Application security is at an inflection point. As AI accelerates both development and exploitation, the need for autonomous, in-context defenses is becoming critical. Teams can no longer rely on signature-based tools and manual patch cycles alone. The future lies in proactive, behavior-aware systems that understand and adapt to the environments they protect.
Runtime application resilience is not a panacea—but it represents a necessary evolution. The ability to protect what’s live—not just what’s fixed—across a landscape defined by complexity and speed, may ultimately be the difference between a controlled incident and a full-scale breach.
