Falco
Falco is a CNCF runtime-security tool that detects abnormal behaviour in containers and hosts by watching system calls against rules.
Legal & ethical use. Use this tool only on systems, networks and data that you own or have explicit written permission to test. Unauthorised access or scanning can break computer-misuse laws (for example Pakistan's Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, and equivalents elsewhere). Practise in your own lab or in authorised environments such as CTFs.
What it is used for
- Alert when a shell is spawned inside a container
- Detect sensitive file access at runtime
Key features
- Rule-based syscall monitoring
- Kubernetes and container awareness
- Pluggable outputs
Installation
See the Falco docs for packages, Helm chart and driver options.
Beginner usage guide
Install in a lab cluster, trigger a rule (for example open a shell in a container) and read the alert.
Example commands
Run these only against your own lab or authorised targets. Placeholder addresses such as 192.0.2.x are documentation ranges.
Check version
falco --versionConfirms installation; rules live in /etc/falco by default.
References
Source verification
Last reviewed: 2026-10-27
Links checked over HTTP: 2026-10-27 07:51 UTC — official: 200, docs: 200, repo: 200
Commands were written from the official documentation and have not been executed on this site; test them in your lab.