The Virtualization Scare
Posted in Service Management Update on Jun 10th, 2009 No Comments »
Virtualization is one of the most talked about technique used by IT departments. The premise behind is simple; perform virtually what IT departments have been trying to do physically by emulating The platform. The benefits are so enticing that many IT professionals jumped into adopting the fray head-on. Some issues still needed some refining and some large IT companies were questioning the merit.
Than last year about this time, Gartner instigated a whole new level to the argument by stating the obvious – virtualization opens IT to new opportunities for attack. The truth of the situation is the systems with virtualization are open to more attacks and different attacks. But that’s the same problem for any new innovation. And the actions required to create an attack are not much different from any other attack on network, system, or application.
The solution to the problem is as obvious as the problem: careful management of the architecture. Plan migrations meticulously. Put in the proper security policies. Make sure access controls are in place, the most sensitive information with the most stringent rules in place. Ensure all changes to the environment are going through change management.
Management of virtualization may be more intensive, which may prove to be more of a benefit because proper management can free up resources from doing the mundane and repetitive work that is often required in a data center. Some risks still exist with virtual environment, but proper management of those risks can ensure that the systems and data on those systems are protected.
