Virtualized server security threats and mitigation planning

Virtualized Server Security

Virtualized servers are faced with similar security concerns as their physical counterparts. The only difference is that virtualized servers have other threats that are specific to virtualized machines. Virtualization is a new technology, and with any new technology, there are new threats and security concerns that will accompany it. When compared to its physical counterparts, virtualized servers are more prone to threats because they are clustered. If one virtual server is attacked, the other virtual servers are most likely to be faced with the same attack. Some of the risks faced by the virtual server can be mitigated through effective and efficient planning.

Lack of information security team

The failure to involve the information security team in the initial planning and architecture stages would result in security threats to the virtualized servers. The organization could have a secure physical server and would be extending the capabilities of its physical server, but the failure to conduct, and effectively planning would make the virtualized server prone to attacks (Luo, Lin, Chen, Yang, & Chen, 2011). With a virtual server, there is a new layer of software that is added and this new layer should be closely analyzed to determine it would not leave the server vulnerable. A vulnerable virtual machine could lead to the attack of the other virtual machines on the same host. Attackers can gain access to the host machine by exploiting the memory space of the shared devices. In case of an attack to the hypervisor, then all the virtual machines running on the host would be compromised. An organization should ensure that it does not just migrate its physical server to a virtual server before due diligence is conducted. There is need to consult and involve information security experts to ensure that the implementation is well planned and executed.

The virtualization layer is faced with other vulnerabilities that are yet to be discovered. Hackers have been targeting this layer in order to compromise the security of the virtual machine. An attack on this layer would compromise all the virtual servers, which makes it critical to the success of the implementation. The information security team would conduct an analysis and offer advice on the best way to implement and secure the virtual server. The analysis would include a plan to mitigate the potential risks that the virtual server would be faced with. Knowing the potential risks faced by the virtual machine would allow the organization to plan on how to mitigate the risks. It is virtually impossible to manage a risk that cannot be acknowledged and communicated. The security processes of the organization should be extended instead of buying more security.

Server management

With physical servers, there are designated persons responsible for the managing the servers. When it comes to virtual machines, the line is a bit unclear. The virtual machines belong to individual departments within the organization. The virtual machines will have specific information regarding a single department, and the IT team would only be responsible for creating and managing the host machine. There is a need for a clear policy that indicates the people responsible and the roles they play. This would ensure that there is a person charged with managing the virtual machines and monitoring the activity of each machine. In order to prevent an attack, there should be a dedicated person who is charged with updating and administrating the virtual machine. Securing the virtual machines would be the responsibility of this individual and they would be held liable if an attack took place on the virtual machine.

Virtual machine sprawl should also be avoided. Since it is easy to create virtual machines, there is a possibility that there are too many virtual machines created, which would make the environment less optimal (Pan, Zhang, Yu, & Jing, 2012). It is likely to forget about some virtual machines that have no real function, and this would lead to vulnerabilities. The shared resources would also be reduced since the forgotten virtual machines are still taking up resources. Organizations should ensure that they do not create virtual machines from previous images because they might contain vulnerabilities. Virtual machine sprawl should also be avoided, and no new virtual machines should be added to a host before the available virtual machines are determined.