Cyber threats are more sophisticated and persistent than ever, making traditional security measures—such as firewalls, antivirus software, and endpoint detection—insufficient against advanced attacks. In recent years, observability has emerged as a game-changer, giving security teams unprecedented visibility into their IT environments. Organizations need more than basic monitoring; they require real-time, data-driven insights to detect and mitigate threats before they escalate. Observability meets this need by continuously analyzing infrastructure, applications, and network behavior to identify anomalies and vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
Shifting from reactive to proactive security
For decades, cybersecurity has been largely reactive, relying on predefined alerts and responding to threats only after they occur. But as attackers exploit vulnerabilities within minutes, organizations can no longer afford to wait for an alert. Observability enables a shift to proactive security by permitting the continuous collection and analysis of telemetry data—metrics, logs, and traces—across an entire IT environment.
Andreas Kroier, a security subject matter expert at Dynatrace, highlights the role of observability in identifying and prioritizing vulnerabilities. “Observability gives you an understanding. First of all, did that piece of code containing the vulnerability ever make it to production? If it never made it to production, there’s no point in fixing it,” he explains. By providing context on exposure—such as whether a system is accessible from the internet or has access to sensitive databases—observability helps companies prioritize remediation more effectively.
The role of observability in incident response
Traditional incident response methods can take days or even weeks to identify the root cause of a security incident or breach, which gives attackers time to inflict damage. Observability drastically reduces delays in response time by providing real-time insights into an attack’s origin, path, and impact. Bob Wambach, vice president of portfolio strategy at Dynatrace, highlights how observability was crucial during the 2021 Log4J vulnerability crisis.
“If a company searches for Log4J instances in its environment, it might find a million. But 800,000 of those could be in code libraries that are never accessed. Observability pinpoints exactly which vulnerabilities are exposed in runtime and need to be fixed first,” he explains.
Beyond detection, observability also enables automated remediation. “When you identify a breach, the first thing you need to know is: Where is it, and what’s my overall risk? We also do auto-remediation—runtime detection and remediation, all automated—so exposure can be eliminated as fast as possible,” Wambach adds.
Beyond security: The operational benefits of observability
Observability is more than a cybersecurity tool—it also improves system reliability, performance, and compliance. Industries such as finance, healthcare, and e-commerce benefit from observability’s capacity to minimize downtime and accelerate root cause analysis. From a compliance standpoint, organizations must now report potential breaches within strict timeframes.
Andreas Kroier notes that traditional compliance audits, conducted quarterly or annually, are no longer viable. “Observability enables real-time compliance monitoring, ensuring organizations meet evolving regulatory requirements,” he explains.
Observability also improves efficiency within development teams. By integrating with security tools such as Jira and ServiceNow, organizations can automate vulnerability tracking and remediation.
“Developers don’t have to worry about which vulnerabilities to fix, where the problematic code is, or how to remediate it. Observability provides those answers, allowing them to focus on development,” says Andreas Kroier.
Key players are continuously innovating
Leading tech firms are leveraging observability to strengthen cybersecurity. Dynatrace recently expanded its security portfolio with Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), which provides continuous monitoring and automated remediation for cloud environments. Datadog has also embraced observability-driven security.
“Today’s security threats require a modern approach that helps teams reliably detect, prioritize, investigate, and resolve issues,” says Yash Kumar, senior director of product at Datadog. The company integrates observability and security data to accelerate threat detection and response.
Similarly, Wiz has transformed cloud security with its agentless architecture, offering full-stack visibility without complex deployments. CEO Assaf Rappaport emphasizes the need for a new security paradigm.
“Siloed security tools and scanners—even the best in class—can’t provide the perspective today’s security professionals need. Securing cloud resources requires a fundamentally new approach,” he says.
The future of observability in cybersecurity
As cyber threats escalate, observability is becoming an indispensable component of cybersecurity. By detecting anomalies in real-time, providing contextual forensic insights, and enabling automated response mechanisms, observability is redefining cyber resilience.
“Observability transforms security from a reactive process into an intelligent, automated, and proactive defense mechanism,” says Andreas Kroier. In a digital world where cyber resilience is no longer optional, observability is emerging as the key to securing the future.
