diff --git a/cmd/main.go b/cmd/main.go
index b4977f20..5294b53a 100644
--- a/cmd/main.go
+++ b/cmd/main.go
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@ import (
 	"flag"
 	"log"
 
+	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
+
 	"github.com/statnett/image-scanner-operator/internal/config"
 	"github.com/statnett/image-scanner-operator/internal/operator"
 )
@@ -13,7 +15,14 @@ func main() {
 	cfg.Zap.Development = true
 
 	opr := operator.Operator{}
-	if err := opr.BindConfig(&cfg, flag.CommandLine); err != nil {
+	if err := opr.BindFlags(&cfg, flag.CommandLine); err != nil {
+		log.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	pflag.CommandLine.AddGoFlagSet(flag.CommandLine)
+	pflag.Parse()
+
+	if err := opr.UnmarshalConfig(&cfg); err != nil {
 		log.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 6eb81a8f..c402df2b 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ go 1.19
 require (
 	github.com/distribution/distribution v2.8.1+incompatible
 	github.com/go-logr/logr v1.2.3
+	github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure v1.5.0
 	github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2 v2.7.1
 	github.com/onsi/gomega v1.26.0
 	github.com/opencontainers/go-digest v1.0.0
@@ -57,7 +58,6 @@ require (
 	github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.16 // indirect
 	github.com/matttproud/golang_protobuf_extensions v1.0.4 // indirect
 	github.com/mitchellh/go-homedir v1.1.0 // indirect
-	github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure v1.5.0 // indirect
 	github.com/modern-go/concurrent v0.0.0-20180306012644-bacd9c7ef1dd // indirect
 	github.com/modern-go/reflect2 v1.0.2 // indirect
 	github.com/munnerz/goautoneg v0.0.0-20191010083416-a7dc8b61c822 // indirect
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 49fa2fce..7eb62043 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package config
 
 import (
+	"regexp"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/statnett/controller-runtime-viper/pkg/zap"
@@ -9,14 +10,15 @@ import (
 )
 
 type Config struct {
-	MetricsLabels         []string      `mapstructure:"cis-metrics-labels"`
-	ScanInterval          time.Duration `mapstructure:"scan-interval"`
-	ScanJobNamespace      string        `mapstructure:"scan-job-namespace"`
-	ScanJobServiceAccount string        `mapstructure:"scan-job-service-account"`
-	ScanNamespaces        []string      `mapstructure:"namespaces"`
-	ScanWorkloadResources []string      `mapstructure:"scan-workload-resources"`
-	TrivyImage            string        `mapstructure:"trivy-image"`
-	Zap                   zap.Options   `mapstructure:"-"`
+	MetricsLabels              []string       `mapstructure:"cis-metrics-labels"`
+	ScanInterval               time.Duration  `mapstructure:"scan-interval"`
+	ScanJobNamespace           string         `mapstructure:"scan-job-namespace"`
+	ScanJobServiceAccount      string         `mapstructure:"scan-job-service-account"`
+	ScanNamespaces             []string       `mapstructure:"namespaces"`
+	ScanNamespaceExcludeRegexp *regexp.Regexp `mapstructure:"scan-namespace-exclude-regexp"`
+	ScanWorkloadResources      []string       `mapstructure:"scan-workload-resources"`
+	TrivyImage                 string         `mapstructure:"trivy-image"`
+	Zap                        zap.Options    `mapstructure:"-"`
 }
 
 func (c Config) TimeUntilNextScan(cis *stasv1alpha1.ContainerImageScan) time.Duration {
diff --git a/internal/controller/stas/containerimagescan_controller.go b/internal/controller/stas/containerimagescan_controller.go
index 10f86f11..ae3815fa 100644
--- a/internal/controller/stas/containerimagescan_controller.go
+++ b/internal/controller/stas/containerimagescan_controller.go
@@ -62,12 +62,18 @@ func (r *ContainerImageScanReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.R
 
 // SetupWithManager sets up the controller with the Manager.
 func (r *ContainerImageScanReconciler) SetupWithManager(mgr ctrl.Manager) error {
+	var predicates []predicate.Predicate
+	if r.ScanNamespaceExcludeRegexp != nil {
+		predicates = append(predicates, predicate.Not(namespaceMatchRegexp(r.ScanNamespaceExcludeRegexp)))
+	}
+
 	return ctrl.NewControllerManagedBy(mgr).
 		For(&stasv1alpha1.ContainerImageScan{},
 			builder.WithPredicates(
 				predicate.GenerationChangedPredicate{},
 				ignoreDeletionPredicate(),
 			)).
+		WithEventFilter(predicate.And(predicates...)).
 		Complete(r)
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/controller/stas/predicates.go b/internal/controller/stas/predicates.go
index b9b3bbcb..d70d3412 100644
--- a/internal/controller/stas/predicates.go
+++ b/internal/controller/stas/predicates.go
@@ -14,11 +14,11 @@ import (
 	stasv1alpha1 "github.com/statnett/image-scanner-operator/api/stas/v1alpha1"
 )
 
-var systemNamespaceRegex = regexp.MustCompile("^(kube-|openshift-).*")
-
-var systemNamespace = predicate.NewPredicateFuncs(func(object client.Object) bool {
-	return systemNamespaceRegex.MatchString(object.GetNamespace())
-})
+func namespaceMatchRegexp(re *regexp.Regexp) predicate.Predicate {
+	return predicate.NewPredicateFuncs(func(object client.Object) bool {
+		return re.MatchString(object.GetNamespace())
+	})
+}
 
 func podContainerStatusImagesChanged() predicate.Predicate {
 	return predicate.Funcs{
diff --git a/internal/controller/stas/workload_controller.go b/internal/controller/stas/workload_controller.go
index ec5a49d3..82249f1c 100644
--- a/internal/controller/stas/workload_controller.go
+++ b/internal/controller/stas/workload_controller.go
@@ -62,6 +62,13 @@ func (r *PodReconciler) SetupWithManager(mgr ctrl.Manager) error {
 		groupKinds[i] = k.GroupKind()
 	}
 
+	predicates := []predicate.Predicate{
+		predicate.Not(managedByImageScanner),
+	}
+	if r.ScanNamespaceExcludeRegexp != nil {
+		predicates = append(predicates, predicate.Not(namespaceMatchRegexp(r.ScanNamespaceExcludeRegexp)))
+	}
+
 	bldr := ctrl.NewControllerManagedBy(mgr).
 		For(&corev1.Pod{},
 			builder.WithPredicates(
@@ -69,10 +76,7 @@ func (r *PodReconciler) SetupWithManager(mgr ctrl.Manager) error {
 				predicate.Or(controllerInKinds(groupKinds...), noController),
 				ignoreDeletionPredicate(),
 			)).
-		WithEventFilter(predicate.And(
-			predicate.Not(systemNamespace),
-			predicate.Not(managedByImageScanner),
-		)).
+		WithEventFilter(predicate.And(predicates...)).
 		Watches(&source.Kind{Type: &stasv1alpha1.ContainerImageScan{}},
 			&handler.EnqueueRequestForOwner{OwnerType: &corev1.Pod{}},
 			builder.WithPredicates(
diff --git a/internal/operator/decode_hooks.go b/internal/operator/decode_hooks.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ab39ad1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/operator/decode_hooks.go
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+package operator
+
+import (
+	"reflect"
+	"regexp"
+
+	"github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure"
+)
+
+// stringToRegexpHookFunc returns a DecodeHookFunc that converts strings to regexp.Regexp.
+func stringToRegexpHookFunc() mapstructure.DecodeHookFunc {
+	return func(
+		f reflect.Type,
+		t reflect.Type,
+		data interface{}) (interface{}, error) {
+		if f.Kind() != reflect.String {
+			return data, nil
+		}
+
+		if t != reflect.TypeOf(&regexp.Regexp{}) {
+			return data, nil
+		}
+
+		return regexp.Compile(data.(string))
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/operator/operator.go b/internal/operator/operator.go
index f78d1528..411dc4b1 100644
--- a/internal/operator/operator.go
+++ b/internal/operator/operator.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
+	"github.com/mitchellh/mapstructure"
 	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
 	"github.com/spf13/viper"
 	"github.com/statnett/controller-runtime-viper/pkg/zap"
@@ -46,25 +47,24 @@ func init() {
 
 type Operator struct{}
 
-func (o Operator) BindConfig(cfg *config.Config, fs *flag.FlagSet) error {
-	flag.String("metrics-bind-address", ":8080", "The address the metric endpoint binds to.")
-	flag.String("health-probe-bind-address", ":8081", "The address the probe endpoint binds to.")
-	flag.Bool("leader-elect", false,
+func (o Operator) BindFlags(cfg *config.Config, fs *flag.FlagSet) error {
+	fs.String("metrics-bind-address", ":8080", "The address the metric endpoint binds to.")
+	fs.String("health-probe-bind-address", ":8081", "The address the probe endpoint binds to.")
+	fs.Bool("leader-elect", false,
 		"Enable leader election for controller manager. "+
 			"Enabling this will ensure there is only one active controller manager.")
-	flag.Bool("enable-profiling", false, "Enable profiling (pprof); available on metrics endpoint.")
-	flag.String("namespaces", "", "comma-separated list of namespaces to watch")
-	flag.String("cis-metrics-labels", "", "comma-separated list of labels in CIS resources to create metrics labels for")
-	flag.Duration("scan-interval", 12*time.Hour, "The minimum time between fetch scan reports from image scanner")
-	flag.String("scan-job-namespace", "", "The namespace to schedule scan jobs.")
-	flag.String("scan-job-service-account", "default", "The service account used to run scan jobs.")
-	flag.String("scan-workload-resources", "", "comma-separated list of workload resources to scan")
-	flag.String("trivy-image", "", "The image used for obtaining the trivy binary.")
-	flag.Bool("help", false, "print out usage and a summary of options")
+	fs.Bool("enable-profiling", false, "Enable profiling (pprof); available on metrics endpoint.")
+	fs.String("namespaces", "", "comma-separated list of namespaces to watch")
+	fs.String("cis-metrics-labels", "", "comma-separated list of labels in CIS resources to create metrics labels for")
+	fs.Duration("scan-interval", 12*time.Hour, "The minimum time between fetch scan reports from image scanner")
+	fs.String("scan-job-namespace", "", "The namespace to schedule scan jobs.")
+	fs.String("scan-job-service-account", "default", "The service account used to run scan jobs.")
+	fs.String("scan-workload-resources", "", "comma-separated list of workload resources to scan")
+	fs.String("scan-namespace-exclude-regexp", "^(kube-|openshift-).*", "regexp for namespace to exclude from scanning")
+	fs.String("trivy-image", "", "The image used for obtaining the trivy binary.")
+	fs.Bool("help", false, "print out usage and a summary of options")
 
 	cfg.Zap.BindFlags(fs)
-	pflag.CommandLine.AddGoFlagSet(fs)
-	pflag.Parse()
 
 	pfs := &pflag.FlagSet{}
 	pfs.AddGoFlagSet(fs)
@@ -76,13 +76,22 @@ func (o Operator) BindConfig(cfg *config.Config, fs *flag.FlagSet) error {
 	viper.AutomaticEnv()
 	viper.SetEnvKeyReplacer(strings.NewReplacer("-", "_"))
 
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (o Operator) UnmarshalConfig(cfg *config.Config) error {
 	helpRequested := viper.GetBool("help")
 	if helpRequested {
 		pflag.Usage()
 		os.Exit(0)
 	}
 
-	if err := viper.Unmarshal(cfg); err != nil {
+	hook := mapstructure.ComposeDecodeHookFunc(
+		mapstructure.StringToTimeDurationHookFunc(),
+		mapstructure.StringToSliceHookFunc(","),
+		stringToRegexpHookFunc(),
+	)
+	if err := viper.Unmarshal(cfg, viper.DecodeHook(hook)); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("unable to decode config into struct: %w", err)
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/operator/operator_test.go b/internal/operator/operator_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c6234d93
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/operator/operator_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+package operator
+
+import (
+	"flag"
+
+	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
+	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
+
+	"github.com/statnett/image-scanner-operator/internal/config"
+)
+
+var _ = Describe("Operator config from flags", func() {
+	var (
+		opr Operator = Operator{}
+		fs  *flag.FlagSet
+		cfg *config.Config
+	)
+
+	BeforeEach(func() {
+		fs = flag.NewFlagSet("test", flag.ExitOnError)
+		cfg = &config.Config{}
+		Expect(opr.BindFlags(cfg, fs)).To(Succeed())
+	})
+
+	Context("Using scan-namespace-exclude-regexp flag", func() {
+		It("Should have correct default", func() {
+			Expect(fs.Parse(nil)).To(Succeed())
+			Expect(opr.UnmarshalConfig(cfg)).To(Succeed())
+			Expect(cfg.ScanNamespaceExcludeRegexp).NotTo(BeNil())
+			Expect(cfg.ScanNamespaceExcludeRegexp.String()).To(Equal("^(kube-|openshift-).*"))
+		})
+
+		It("Should be configurable", func() {
+			args := []string{"--scan-namespace-exclude-regexp=^$"}
+			Expect(fs.Parse(args)).To(Succeed())
+			Expect(opr.UnmarshalConfig(cfg)).To(Succeed())
+			Expect(cfg.ScanNamespaceExcludeRegexp).NotTo(BeNil())
+			Expect(cfg.ScanNamespaceExcludeRegexp.String()).To(Equal("^$"))
+		})
+
+		It("Should error on invalid regexp", func() {
+			args := []string{"--scan-namespace-exclude-regexp=["}
+			Expect(fs.Parse(args)).To(Succeed())
+			Expect(opr.UnmarshalConfig(cfg)).To(MatchError(ContainSubstring("error parsing regexp")))
+		})
+	})
+
+})
diff --git a/internal/operator/suite_test.go b/internal/operator/suite_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..51ea852a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/operator/suite_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+package operator
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo/v2"
+	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
+)
+
+func TestOperator(t *testing.T) {
+	RegisterFailHandler(Fail)
+	RunSpecs(t, "Operator Suite")
+}