"Zero‑Trust" CNAPP: Kernel‑Virtualization for True Full‑Stack Cloud Security

A Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) unifies CSPM, CWPP, CIEM, ASPM, IaC scanning & DSPM into one solution to secure network, infrastructure, workloads, applications and data in real time securing every layer of your cloud stack from network to data in real time.

Point tools—DSPM for data, AI graphs for risk prioritization, eBPF agents for runtime—are bolted on because no single layer can stop every threat. But stitching them together adds cost, integration overhead, alert noise and operational drift.

Attackers can move laterally, escalate privileges, deploy ransomware, or exfiltrate data long before alerts fire—dramatically increasing breach impact.

Managing alerts from multiple agents and ML engines demands 3–5 FTEs per 100 000 workloads, burning out staff and diverting focus from proactive security

Organizations spend $1 M–$1.5 M per year on licensing, integration and support—yet still endure long audit cycles and compliance headaches.

Kernel API Virtualization embeds a lightweight micro‑hypervisor beneath every protected workload, creating a transparent “shim” between application code and the real operating system. Every system call—whether it touches the filesystem, registry, network sockets or process-control APIs—is first routed into this virtual layer. There, calls are evaluated against a single, pre‑loaded policy: if a syscall exactly matches an approved “allow” entry, it is forwarded to the OS; if not, it is dropped silently. This approach:

• Covers all entry points—from file reads/writes and registry edits to network connect/disconnect and inter‑process signaling—so no blind spots remain.

• Maintains full auditability—every blocked and allowed syscall is logged in real time, producing a complete forensic trail without performance‑degrading hooks in the main OS.

• Operates at near‑native speed—because the micro‑hypervisor is optimized for minimal overhead, workloads see no perceptible latency or resource consumption.

By contrast, ML‑based or signature‑driven agents must first observe suspicious behavior patterns or match known indicators—often after damage begins. Kernel API Virtualization enforces policy deterministically, eliminating the gap between detection and prevention.

Thus, by embedding a micro-hypervisor beneath every workload, it intercepts every syscall at the filesystem, registry, network and process layers. Anything not explicitly allowed is blocked—guaranteeing zero-dwell threats and no agent tuning or ML-model drift.

To simplify even further the micro-hypervisor intercepts every filesystem, registry, network and process syscall in a virtual layer; only explicitly allowed calls are forwarded—ensuring zero false positives and full audit logging.

• Zero‑Dwell Guarantee
  Because unauthorized system calls are blocked at the moment they are invoked—rather than after anomaly detection or alert triage—malicious code never executes on the real OS. There is no “dwell time” in which attackers can stage data, escalate privileges, or propagate laterally. Every attempted exploit is contained instantly in the virtual sandbox, turning today’s average 15–30 minutes of undetected activity into effectively zero.

• A Truly Unified Enforcement Plane
  Traditional CNAPP stacks require separate modules—and often separate consoles—for DSPM, AI‑driven risk scoring, runtime agents, and attack‑path analysis. This replaces all of these with one policy engine embedded in the kernel layer. This unified plane:

  • Eliminates integration complexity—no more stitching alerts from multiple tools or reconciling conflicting policy outcomes.

  • Reduces operational overhead—one set of policies, one logging mechanism, one source of truth.

  • Delivers consistent security—every component of your full‑stack defense is enforced at the same deterministic layer, ensuring there are no gaps between “what you say” in policy and “what actually runs” on the OS.

Together, these capabilities transform cloud‑native protection from a reactive, multi‑tool scramble into a proactive, single‑plane guarantee: if it’s not explicitly allowed, it can’t happen.

Inline, pre-execution syscall blocking delivers < 1 minute containment vs. 15–30 minutes with traditional agents—eliminating dwell time.

Many EDRs require kernel-level agents that can crash systems.

We leverage the patented Xcitium’s micro-hypervisor that runs transparently beneath workloads, with near-zero performance impact—no endpoint crashes. Securing your cloud infrastructure beyond the traditional detection solution approach most vendors use today.

Point tools for DSPM, AI risk scoring, runtime agents and attack-path graphs fill security gaps—but each adds integration, tuning and alert-overload complexity.

Do you need multi-cloud and hybrid coverage?

Xcitium CNAPP protects AWS, Azure, GCP, on-prem (OpenShift, Tanzu) and hybrid via Azure Arc or Outposts.

Scalability is critical for large enterprises.

Yes—Xcitium’s agentless kernel sandbox and centralized policy plane scale horizontally without tuning eBPF or ML models.

One policy engine replaces DSPM, AI-graphs, runtime agents, attack-path modules—producing auto-generated audit logs and reducing audit prep from 4–6 weeks to 1 week.

Xcitium offers REST APIs, webhooks, and native plugins for Splunk, QRadar, Phantom, Jenkins, GitLab, and Terraform—streamlining automated policy deployment, alert routing, and compliance reporting without custom connectors

Xcitium ships with policy templates and audit reports for PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, NIST CSF, ISO 27001, and CIS benchmarks—auto-generating evidence from deterministic syscall logs to reduce audit prep time by an estimated 80 %.