A Physical For Your Virtual

The Security and Compliance Gap

Virtualization presents a host of opportunities for enhanced operational efficiencies and improved ROI, but moving from physical to virtual also has the great potential to create gaps in security and compliance. Controls and processes in place for the physical IT infrastructure are inadequate to address the special architecture of the virtual platform.

Examples of potential disparities between physical and virtual:

External security devices on the physical LAN, such as IPS/IDS, have no visibility onto the traffic of the virtual network and are therefore unable to protect inter-VM, hypervisor-to-VM, or VM-to-physical-LAN communication.
Lack of any separation of duties and role-based controls for the virtual center administrator means he has unrestricted power and access. Inadvertent human error or malicious activity will not be detected or prevented.
Missing secondary or back-up controls on the virtual management network is in direct contrast to best practices outlined by the published specifications of recognized industry standards.
Vulnerabilities on Windows virtual machines will not be detected by external scanners
Virtual machines that have failed to meet established corporate policies (e.g. password aging, patch levels, etc) will remain out of compliance as traditional physical world mechanisms will not see these virtualized systems.

How can you tell whether your virtual environment is at risk?

Keeping a watchful eye on the network is imperative in a world where new vulnerabilities, attack signatures and–most frequently–human error occur every day, physical or virtual. But for most IT managers, even for those seasoned in security for physical infrastructure, scoping out how to assess what needs to be addressed in the virtual complex is a challenge. A new architecture, different risks, new roles, issues with visibility–the most basic problem is lack of knowledge about what to monitor, what to enforce, and how to ensure that all bases have been covered.

Catbird’s Virtual Security Assessment (VSA) is an easy way to start the process. Catbird provides a one-stop solution for a comprehensive analysis and report on the virtual network, offering choice based on price and scope of work:

Installs in seconds
Provides a comprehensive report, actionable intelligence and mitigation strategies for the security and compliance posture of the virtual infrastructure.
Identifies change control and sprawl issues that routinely dog even the most carefully planned virtualization deployments
Identifies separation of duties issues, a critical risk to any organization
Identifies inter-VM traffic issues, for full visibility
Identifies network segmentation and trust zone outages which violate industry best practices

Personal Touch

In addition, Catbird’s Virtual Security Assessment provides customers with the opportunity to have a 1:1 consult with a highly-trained virtualization security practitioner, providing knowledge transfer that will significantly improve the reliability and security of the entire virtual infrastructure.

VSA Methodology

Click here for more detailed information on the VSA.

Catbird’s partners provide the VSA assessment service using a structured methodology that delivers immediate benefits:

Step 1: Evaluation

The assessment team evaluates the virtual data center and develops a comprehensive analysis plan, with a defined scope. The scope may include, but is not limited to: Virtual infrastructure, DMZ infrastructure, Website infrastructure, and Policy, Process and Controls.

Step 2: Deployment

Catbird’s unique V-Agent virtual appliance is deployed in the environment, performing a wide variety of passive and active security monitoring and testing services. Deployment of the V-Agent requires no changes to your devices or network topology.

Step 3: Reporting

A final, comprehensive V-Security Assessment Report is delivered at the end of the 30-day period. The report clearly identifies any critical security and operational risks and deficiencies in the environment.

Customer Benefits

Easy way to get started with virtualization security–There is lots of noise these days about security issues around virtualization. This is often confusing to IT departments who can’t separate alarmist Cassandras from real risks. Catbird’s VSA makes it simple to analyze the security posture of the virtual network, allowing organizations to take a breath and make informed choices about what they need to address over time.

No need to purchase and deploy expensive equipment that may not accomplish organizational goals or even address the real security issues at play. Catbird’s non-invasive, service-based approach is plug and play with no costly on-site equipment. A simple download of the free virtual agent is all that is required.

Ongoing monitoring–Catbird’s VSA is based on its award-winning V-Security™ 24x7 monitoring and enforcement product suite for virtual infrastructure. By providing a continual security analysis, not just a single snapshot at a point in time, it takes full advantage of the fluid nature of virtualization, enabling organizations to monitor changes in the environment, including server sprawl and unauthorized motion from one virtual host to another.

Compliance-focused–The collapse of separation of duties and secondary controls are not typical fodder for a security analysis. But these issues are at the heart of the risk with moving from P to V and Catbird’s VSA identifies these outages.

Automated solution–Catbird’s V-Security is updated automatically when new threats, vulnerabilities, policies and regulations change so users are protected with the most current data.

Customized, detailed assessment reports–These reports identify areas of weakness and provide recommendations for remediation necessary to meet or exceed corporate compliance regulations.

Catbird Networks, Inc.
1800 Green Hills Road, Suite 113
Scotts Valley, CA 95066

866.682.0080 tel
708.221.0401 fax

Catbird’s Virtual Security Assessment