How virtualization can create its own security vulnerabilities
The introduction of virtualization was aimed at making the IT industry better, though this is associated with some weaknesses or vulnerabilities, thus putting cybersecurity at risk. “The manner in which virtualization is deployed brings in a new threat matrix that should be addressed in an enterprise” (Marinescu, 2013). The aim of taking such a move is so as to ensure that the organization works as expected.
One of the ways in which virtualization creates its own security vulnerability is through VM sprawling. “Many virtual machines are easy to deploy, and this could be due to the fact that many entities view them as hardware-like tools that do not need any formal policies” (Shackleford, 2013). Having such kind of notion in organizations have made them vulnerable in the sense that it enhances VM sprawl, which is the proliferation of the virtual machines without having any proper plan in place.
The other way in which virtualization can create its own security vulnerability is through hyperjacking. The latter stated process is known to take control of the hypervisor with the aim of accessing the virtual machines along with their data. In real sense, hyperjackings are usually not a common occurrence and this is due to the difficulty that is directly associated with accessing the hypervisor. Hyperjacking is one of the major threats in the world which administrators should consider planning on how to combat it.
Incorrect isolation of the virtual machines is the other way in which such a system can create its own vulnerabilities. For the VMs to function well, there is a need to ensure that they are isolated from each other. “Poor control over the deployments of the virtual machines can lead to isolation breaches in the communication of VM” (Rosado, 2013). In the course of incorrect isolation of the VM, the attackers can be able to exploit the virtual drawbridge with the aim of gaining access to the guests and the hosts.
References
Marinescu, D. C. (2013). Cloud computing: Theory and practice. Boston: Morgan Kaufmann.
Rosado, D. G. (2013). Security engineering for cloud computing: Approaches and
tools. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.
Shackleford, D. (2013). Virtualization security: Protecting virtualized
environments. Indianapolis, Ind: Wiley.