A Combined Hardware, Software, and Policy Approach to Virtualization Security
As with any major change to an organization’s IT architecture, virtualization brings with it a number of new security challenges and considerations. The hardware and software ecosystem continually introduces new measures to help address these challenges. The security outlook around virtualization continues to unfold, including the following key changes to the physical security model:
Multiple users and applications can be isolated by dedicating independent physical resources (servers and associated physical network fabric) |
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Multiple users and applications may run on the same physical server when virtualized, with their communication carried over a “virtual network” implemented in virtual machine monitor (VMM) software |
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Anomalies are relatively simple to detect, as there is a one-to-one mapping between users/applications and the physical system or network |
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Anomalies are more difficult to detect, since there is a many-to-one mapping between users/applications and the physical system or network |
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Software/application firewalls and physical firewalls are routinely used and well understood |
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Software/application firewalls and physical firewalls are needed (with potentially more complex and dynamic configurations), but additional inter-VM protection requirements must also be met |
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Many customers are concerned about increased complexity and possible risk associated with virtualization, from issues like the following:
 Increased sharing of compute, network, and I/O resources
Replacing physical isolation boundaries with less-understood virtual ones
More complex auditing, monitoring, and management
The white paper, Resource Protection in Virtualized Infrastructures, provides an overview of security concerns and considerations that organizations must address when implementing virtualization. It then introduces the hardware, software, and policy measures available to help address those challenges, including their strengths and limitations. It also provides a brief discussion of some key issues associated with security in emerging Cloud Computing usage models.
 Read the full white paper
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