VMware improves virtual machine security

By Dave Nixon

VMware has announced a new security technology that it maintains can shield applications running in virtual machines in ways earlier not possible in physical environments.

VMsafe operates as a sub-system, or security engine, in the hypervisor, VMware ESX Server, and scrutinizes all traffic in and out of each virtual machine. It can furthermore inspect the state of the CPU and the disk. VMware said that security products built on VMsafe technology are able to prevent malware before it troubles a machine or steals data, including the latest generation of rootkits, Trojans and viruses, which are untraceable on physical machines.

At VMworld this week, company co-founder and chief scientist Mendel Rosenblum demonstrated the product’s capability to arrest malware before a single instruction had been executed. “Everyone we talked to in the security industry said this is great and that they could build products on top of it,” said Rosenblum.

VMware said the product’s addition of open APIs permitted security vendors to develop anti-malware products on top of VMsafe. The company additionally claimed that 20 security vendors are building products around it. VMware said that this renders the virtual environment “unmatched in the level of security and protection it provides compared to physical systems.”

Raghu Raghuram, vice president of datacentre products and solutions stated “VMware already has the most trusted virtualisation platform for running applications, and we are now raising the bar on security in ways that physical systems simply cannot match. The industry has come out in full force to support VMware VMsafe technology with plans for a whole new class of security products that offer customers new advantages to running applications in virtual machines.”