14 DAY TRIAL // Many companies are striving to get the best out of their networks and to stay secure as well. A few years ago, the idea of virtualization popped up. Virtual machines are pretty efficient and in some cases more secure than the normal ones, but they have their vulnerabilities as well. Virtualization is not a process without risks.
Kris Lamb who is IBM's director for the Internet Security Systems research group stated that since 1999 till now there have been 100 flaws disclosed publicly in VMWare's virtualization. 8 years - 100 bugs - I don't know if that's a lot or not, but there are programs with more vulnerabilities, and let's not forget that this technology is rather new. In any case, out of these flaws, close to 75% have been discovered in 2006 and 2007 and about 60% of the bugs can be exploited remotely. I got this information from his blog that you can access for more facts on virtualization risks.
But do not get discouraged by these facts - all programs have their vulnerabilities, that's why you require protection. In my opinion, the most important thing is to have a security software with no bugs or flaws; or if it does, the fewer, the better.
So yes, virtualization is one great technology, but it comes with its flaws. As usual, the best way to go around this is to know what vulnerabilities you have and what's the best way to protect your network. There are always a lot of measures to be taken when tackling cyber-security. And if you want to do a good thing, then your work is never finished.
And in case you want to learn more about virtualization, click on this link. Also, here is the official VMWare page where you may get more info on their products, and how their technology actually works.