eBPF is emerging as a superior alternative to user-space security agents for Kubernetes and container security monitoring. Traditional sidecar-based agents share the same privilege level as potential attackers, making them easy to disable. eBPF attaches probes directly to the Linux kernel's syscall interface, providing visibility that persists even when an attacker has root inside a container. Organizations replacing multi-agent stacks with a single eBPF-based agent report 60-80% CPU reductions and lower SIEM ingestion costs due to kernel-level filtering. The recommended rollout is phased: observe first, then alert, then enforce. Falco (CNCF graduated) and Tetragon (Cilium sub-project) are highlighted as production-ready tools, with concrete Falco rule examples and deployment configuration provided.
