VMware vSphere and Virtual Infrastructure Security: Securing the Virtual Environment, Rough Cuts

Description

This is the Rough Cut version of the printed book.

Complete Hands-On Help for Securing VMware vSphere and Virtual Infrastructure by Edward Haletky, Author of the Best Selling Book on VMware, VMware ESX Server in the Enterprise

As VMware has become increasingly ubiquitous in the enterprise, IT professionals have become increasingly concerned about securing it. Now, for the first time, leading VMware expert Edward Haletky brings together comprehensive guidance for identifying and mitigating virtualization-related security threats on all VMware platforms, including the new cloud computing platform, vSphere.

This book reflects the same hands-on approach that made Haletky’s VMware ESX Server in the Enterprise so popular with working professionals. Haletky doesn’t just reveal where you might be vulnerable; he tells you exactly what to do and how to reconfigure your infrastructure to address the problem.

VMware vSphere and Virtual Infrastructure Security begins by reviewing basic server vulnerabilities and explaining how security differs on VMware virtual servers and related products. Next, Haletky drills deep into the key components of a VMware installation, identifying both real and theoretical exploits, and introducing effective countermeasures.

Coverage includes

•    Viewing virtualization from the attacker’s perspective, and understanding the new security problems it can introduce

•    Discovering which security threats the vmkernel does (and doesn’t) address

•    Learning how VMsafe enables third-party security tools to access the vmkernel API

•    Understanding the security implications of VMI, paravirtualization, and VMware Tools

•    Securing virtualized storage: authentication, disk encryption, virtual storage networks, isolation, and more

•    Protecting clustered virtual environments that use VMware High Availability, Dynamic Resource Scheduling, Fault Tolerance, vMotion, and Storage vMotion

•    Securing the deployment and management of virtual machines across the network

•    Mitigating risks associated with backup, performance management, and other day-to-day operations

•    Using multiple security zones and other advanced virtual network techniques

•    Securing Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

•    Auditing virtual infrastructure, and conducting forensic investigations after a possible breach

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Sample Content

Table of Contents

1  WHAT IS A SECURITY THREAT?    1

The 10,000 Foot View without Virtualization   2

The 10,000 Foot View with Virtualization    4

Applying Virtualization Security    5

Definitions    10

Threat    11

Vulnerability    11

Fault    11

The Beginning of the Journey    12

2  HOLISTIC VIEW FROM THE BOTTOM UP    15

Attack Goals    16

Anatomy of an Attack    17

Footprinting Stage    17

Scanning Stage    17

Enumeration Stage    19

Penetration Stage    21

Types of Attacks    23

Buffer Overflows    23

Heap Overflows    31

Web-Based Attacks    33

Layer 2 Attacks    41

Layer 3 Nonrouter Attacks    46

DNS Attacks    47

Layer 3 Routing Attacks    49

Man in the Middle Attack (MiTM)    51

Conclusion    57

3  UNDERSTANDING VMWARE VSPHERE AND VIRTUAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY    59

Hypervisor Models    59

Hypervisor Security    60

Secure the Hardware    61

Secure the Management Appliance    62

Secure the Hypervisor    63

Secure the Management Interfaces    81

Secure the Virtual Machine    89

Conclusion    89

4  STORAGE AND SECURITY    91

Storage Connections within the Virtual Environment    92

Storage Area Networks (SAN)    93

Network Attached Storage (NAS)    95

Internet SCSI (iSCSI) Servers    96

Virtual Storage Appliances    96

Storage Usage within the Virtual Environment    97

VM Datastore    98

Ancillary File Store    98

Backup Store    99

Tape Devices    100

Storage Security    102

Data in Motion    103

Data at Rest    104

Storage Security Issues    104

VCB Proxy Server    104

SCSI reservations    106

Fibre Channel SAN (Regular or NPIV)    108

iSCSI    110

NFS    111

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