Challenges and opportunities for virtualized security in the clouds

ABSTRACT

The virtualization technologies that underlie the cloud computing infrastructures pose challenges on enforcing security policy when we have a sense of ambiguity concerning the actual physical properties of the resources. On the other hand, the virtual machine managers provide us with better sandboxing, detailed monitoring capabilities and fine-grained access control on the resource usage. As we expect the whole world to virtualize over the next 5-10 years, the presentation will present a forward-looking view on the cloudy road ahead with a focus on the associated security topics.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.4 OPERATING SYSTEMS
      D.4.6 Security and Protection

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.2 COMPUTER-COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
      C.2.0 General
          Subjects: Security and protection (e.g., firewalls)

  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.5 Security and Protection (D.4.6, K.4.2)

General Terms:
Design, Management, Security

Keywords:
cloud computing, distributed policy enforcement, sandbox, virtual machine