Question: Are virtualized and cloud workloads secured with baseline images, segmentation, and isolation controls?
Why This Matters
Workloads deployed in cloud or virtualization platforms expand the attack surface. Segmentation and hardened templates prevent lateral movement and privilege abuse.
Maturity
0 — Unaware
Ad-hoc VM creation; no isolation or image hardening.
Ad-hoc VM creation; no isolation or image hardening.
1 — Ad Hoc
Manual setup of instances; limited network segregation.
Manual setup of instances; limited network segregation.
2 — Defined
Standard VM or AMI images documented and reused.
Standard VM or AMI images documented and reused.
3 — Managed
Segmentation by environment (prod/dev/test); templates hardened.
Segmentation by environment (prod/dev/test); templates hardened.
4 — Integrated
Automated provisioning through IaC with security guardrails.
Automated provisioning through IaC with security guardrails.
5 — Optimized
Continuous posture management across hybrid environments.
Continuous posture management across hybrid environments.
How to Level Up
| From → To | Actions |
|---|---|
| 0 → 1 | Define naming and tagging standards for VMs and workloads. |
| 1 → 2 | Create base hardened image per OS / platform. |
| 2 → 3 | Enforce network segmentation and security groups. |
| 3 → 4 | Adopt IaC (Terraform, Ansible) with security baselines. |
| 4 → 5 | Enable CSPM / CWPP for continuous compliance. |
Enablers
- People: Cloud admin, DevOps, security architect.
- Process: Template review, segmentation policy, posture checklist.
- Technology: Terraform, AWS Config, Azure Policy, Kubernetes Network Policies.
Evidence
- Hardened image checksums or pipeline logs.
- Segmentation diagram / policy.
- CSPM compliance report.
KPIs
- % workloads deployed from approved templates.
-
of non-segmented instances detected.
- Mean time to remediate non-compliant workload.
Low-Cost / Open-Source Options (MSME)
| Purpose | Tool | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| IaC security | Checkov / Tfsec | Static analysis of Terraform files. |
| Baseline images | Packer / Ansible | Automated image builds. |
| CSPM light | ScoutSuite / CloudQuery | Free cloud posture scanner. |
Common Pitfalls
- Mixing prod and dev resources.
- Using outdated images.
- Lack of least-privilege IAM roles.
Compliance Mapping
| Standard | Clauses / Notes |
|---|---|
| ISO/IEC 27001:2022 | A.8.20 (Virtualization Security) |
| CERT-In 2022 | Section 14 (Cloud and Virtualization Security) |
| DPDP Act 2023 | Sec 9 (Security Safeguards in Processing) |
| NIST CSF 2.0 | PR.DS-07 / PR.PT-06 |
| NIRMATA Mapping | EP-Q11 maps to cloud hardening evidence. |