By completing this course, learners will:

• Install and configure Falco on Linux and Kubernetes.

• Monitor containers, processes, and system calls in real time.

• Write custom Falco rules for threat detection.

• Integrate Falco with logging and alerting pipelines.

• Use Falco in DevSecOps workflows for compliance.

• Deploy Falco at scale in production environments.

Course Syllabus

Module 1: Introduction to Falco

• What is Falco?

• CNCF and open-source adoption

• Installing Falco

Module 2: Core Architecture

• System call monitoring with eBPF and kernel modules

• Falco rules engine

• Alerts and outputs

• Integration with Kubernetes audit logs

Module 3: Falco Rules & Policies

• Default Falco rules

• Writing custom rules (YAML format)

• Macros, lists, and conditions

• Policy-as-code best practices

Module 4: Kubernetes & Container Monitoring

• Detecting abnormal pod behavior

• Monitoring privileged containers

• Detecting crypto-mining and malware

• Compliance and audit monitoring

Module 5: Integrations

• Falco with Falcosidekick for multi-output

• Integration with Prometheus, Grafana, and ELK stack

• SIEM integration (Splunk, Datadog, etc.)

• Alerting with Slack, Teams, and email

Module 6: Deployment & Scaling

• Running Falco on Kubernetes clusters

• Falco as a DaemonSet

• Cloud deployments (EKS, GKE, AKS)

• Scaling Falco for production workloads

Module 7: Advanced Use Cases

• Falco with CI/CD pipelines

• Detecting insider threats

• Incident response with Falco

• Forensics and threat hunting

Module 8: Real-World Projects

• Deploying Falco in Kubernetes for compliance monitoring

• Detecting container escapes in runtime

• Integrating Falco alerts with SIEM dashboards

• Building a DevSecOps workflow with Falco + GitOps

Module 9: Best Practices & Future Trends

• Writing efficient rules

• Minimizing false positives

• Comparing Falco vs commercial runtime security tools

• The future of open-source runtime security

Learners will receive a Certificate of Completion from Uplatz, validating their expertise in Falco and cloud-native runtime security. This certification demonstrates readiness for roles in DevSecOps, cloud security, and Kubernetes administration.

Falco skills prepare learners for roles such as:

• DevSecOps Engineer

• Cloud Security Engineer

• Kubernetes Administrator (security-focused)

• Site Reliability Engineer (SRE)

• Security Operations Analyst

Falco is becoming a must-have tool for runtime security in Kubernetes and cloud-native environments, making it highly valuable for modern infrastructure teams.

1. What is Falco?
An open-source CNCF project for detecting abnormal behavior in containers, Kubernetes, and Linux hosts.

2. How does Falco monitor workloads?
By using eBPF or kernel modules to capture system calls and applying rule-based detection.

3. What are Falco rules?
YAML-based policies defining conditions for suspicious behavior, such as writing to sensitive files or running unexpected processes.

4. How is Falco integrated with Kubernetes?
It monitors Kubernetes audit logs, pods, and cluster activities for runtime anomalies.

5. What is Falcosidekick?
A companion project that extends Falco outputs to external systems like Slack, Elasticsearch, or SIEMs.

6. What threats can Falco detect?
Privilege escalation, crypto-mining, file tampering, unexpected network connections, and container escapes.

7. What are the benefits of Falco?

• Real-time detection

• Kubernetes-native

• Open-source and CNCF-backed

• Flexible integrations

8. What are challenges with Falco?

• Rule tuning to reduce false positives

• Performance overhead in large clusters

• Requires operational expertise

9. What are common use cases of Falco?
Kubernetes runtime security, compliance enforcement, DevSecOps pipelines, and intrusion detection.

10. Where is Falco being adopted?
By cloud-native companies, SaaS providers, and enterprises securing Kubernetes workloads.