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Virtualization: Security concerns are here to stay

Unless ofcourse start considering the security as the "default" option when purchasing Virtualization software for your IT infrastructure. Adoption is getting quicker and don't forget to add security shields as standard installation with every virtualization installation.

Lamb says that his post isn't intended to smear VMware specifically, but rather to point out vulnerabilities in virtualization software in general. Virtualization allows enterprises to convert physical hardware, such as servers and desktop PCs, into software, which can then be consolidated onto a single machine, saving energy and hardware costs. But according to Lamb, that consolidation may also turn a business's IT infrastructure into a larger, more unified target for hackers.

"Instead of 30 discrete servers, now they're all on one physical machine. You could potentially compromise and own the whole system," he says.

In fact, Internet Security Systems released a vulnerability on Wednesday that could potentially be used to compromise several of VMware's products. The bug, found in VMware's Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, (DHCP) could theoretically be exploited to allow hackers to access and run commands on not just the "guest" desktop PCs in a virtualization set-up, but also the physical server that hosts those machines.


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