Virtualization technology has been around for a while now and it is only climbing in popularity and application. Back when vritualization technology was considered to be new it was getting a lot of attention and it was hoped that the security part of it would not be placed on the back-burner, like most other new technological developments.
Security is Still a Problem
Now, several years after this virtualization has sprouted, and has been adopted by a good portion of participants (some even using it as their main platform for their new servers), security is still not where it should have been when virtualization was born. Is security non-existent within virtualization? No, it is there, but it has not been as developed as some were expecting it to be.
The problem is that as this technology grows, and is adapted by more and more users, the security risks are going to rise. This is true with any popular technology. Since virtualization has many different applications, it is prone to more abuse.
Basic Tips to Stay Secure
If you are worried about being at risk while adapting virtualization, there are two main things you can do to increase your level of security significantly:
- First, place security controls within each layer of your virtual system.
- Second, make sure everything is organized and kept track of (documented).
Some additional tips include:
- Only store the necessities on the host machine.
- Always keep your OS and all applications up to date.
- Use a good firewall on each virtual machine.
- Install good anti-virus software and keep it up to date.
There are other steps you could take to ensure virtualization security, but these alone will allow you to be ahead enough where security is much more achievable. There are plenty of other resources on the web that can help you understand how to increase the level of security within virtualized tools.
There are also plenty of resources on the web to help you stay up-to-date with popular virtualization topics, like cloud computing. This topic (cloud computing) is one of the fastest growing areas of virtualization today.
Having the ability to access desktop files from your iPad or smart phone has proven to be immensely valuable. Along with that, however, come even more security risks. To reiterate the point made at the beginning of this article, as more and more people are made to rely on this technology, the more security risk is involved. Sticking to some of the main suggestions mentioned above are going to be key going forward.