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Attacking and Defending Virtual Environments
sponsored by Burton Group
Posted:  18 Apr 2008
Published:  03 Jan 2008
Format:  PDF
Length:  28   Page(s)
Type:  White Paper
Language:  English


ABSTRACT:
Virtualization of clients and servers, and its accompanying impact on networks and storage, is a hot topic in information technology (IT) and therefore a hot topic in security. There are multiple perspectives regarding how virtualization impacts security. Some suggest that its isolation properties make virtualization beneficial to security while others say that the added complexity of the hypervisor and opportunity to "escape the VM" are detrimental to security. "The answer" to the question of security rarely has an absolute value; it is a matter of degrees. In any case, for most enterprises the decision points are not whether to virtualize or not, because virtualization is here. The decision points involve proactivity and reactivity–determining where and when to apply controls that are sufficient in the environment based on risk tolerance. Ultimately, whether virtualization is bane or boon for security depends on how the systems are configured, deployed, and managed.


Author

Pete Lindstrom
Senior Analyst ,  Burton Group
Pete Lindstrom former research director for Spire Security. Former analyst with Hurwitz Group. Has conducted numerous security audits and security consulting projects at Fortune 500 companies including American Home Products (Wyeth) and GMAC Mortgage, and the United States Marine Corps as a consultant for Coopers & Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers).



BROWSE RELATED RESOURCES
Access Control | Authentication | Enterprise | IT Infrastructure | Risk Management | Server Virtualization | SSL VPN | TCO

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