eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter) allows you to run sandboxed programs in the Linux kernel without changing kernel source code or loading kernel modules.

Step 1 — Cilium Networking

Traditional K8s networking uses iptables, which degrades in performance at scale. Cilium uses eBPF to route packets directly in the kernel, bypassing iptables entirely.

Terminalbash
# Install Cilium CLI and deploy to a cluster
cilium install

# Verify eBPF datapath status
cilium status --wait

Step 2 — Runtime Security with Tetragon

eBPF enables powerful runtime security by hooking into kernel functions. You can block privilege escalations or unauthorized file access synchronously before the syscall completes.

eBPF Benefits

  • Performance: Bypasses complex iptables chains for faster packet routing.
  • Security: Deep visibility into process execution and file access.
  • Transparency: Zero-instrumentation monitoring for applications.