Detect reverse shell with Falco and Sysdig Secure

Reverse shell attacks, which exploit application vulnerabilities to grant attackers interactive access to victim systems, can be effectively detected using tools like Falco and Sysdig Secure. Falco, a CNCF project, identifies abnormal behaviors in applications, containers, and hosts, while Sysdig Secure not only detects but also responds to such anomalies. Attackers often use reverse shells to perform reconnaissance, escalate privileges, steal data, or install malware like crypto miners. These attacks typically involve reversing the roles of client-server connections to bypass firewalls, with tools like netcat commonly used to establish these connections. Detection involves recognizing deviations from expected behavior, such as unexpected network connections or shell executions, particularly in microservice environments where container behavior is usually predictable. Falco utilizes rules to identify such deviations, while Sysdig Secure employs image profiling to learn normal container behavior, thus enabling the detection of unauthorized activities. Advanced reverse shells, which may not use straightforward methods like netcat, require comprehensive monitoring of system activities to ensure they are detected promptly.