Even in the best environments, a little housekeeping is necessary.
A natural consequence of software-defined storage and software-defined data centers is the software-defined wide area network, or the Internet connections between locations and cloud services.
VMware's NSX for vSphere platform adds security to microsegmentation, allowing security components to analyze traffic within the hypervisor.
Virtualization solutions isolate their VM systems far more effectively than a container host isolates its guests. However, implementation weaknesses in the hypervisor and configuration errors can lead to residual risk, as we show, using KVM as an example.
Any OpenStack installation that hosts services and VMs for several customers poses a challenge for the security-conscious admin. Hardening the overall system can turn the porous walls into a fortress – but you'll need more than a little mortar.
Although developers appreciate Docker's ease of use and flexibility, many admins are worried about vulnerabilities. We look at various approaches to securing container images and the price to be paid.
Microsegmentation promises substantial improvements over classic architectures for the protection of applications and increased security when building out the efficiency of a data center.
Serious distributions try to protect their repositories cryptographically against tampering and transmission errors. Arch Linux, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, and Ubuntu all take different, complex, but conceptually similar approaches.
Docker containers introduce serious security problems, but you can employ a number of methods to deploy them securely.
Simple backup strategies cannot protect files encrypted by ransomware, because they can be affected as well. A PowerShell script can ensure that your files are okay before sending them to backup.
