Infrastructure Security · IS-Q06

Question: Are virtualization platforms secured through hardened hypervisors, isolation, and access control?

  1. Objective — Why This Matters
    A compromised hypervisor exposes every hosted workload. Securing virtualization layers ensures isolation, data integrity, and uptime for all tenants.

  2. Maturity Levels (0 – 5)

0 — Unaware
No hypervisor security controls.
1 — Ad Hoc
Admins apply vendor defaults; no isolation validation.
2 — Defined
Hardening checklist exists; console access restricted.
3 — Managed
Role-based admin access; patch cycles tracked.
4 — Integrated
VM templates hardened; audit logging enabled.
5 — Optimized
Continuous monitoring, automated drift detection, and segmentation alerts.
  1. How to Level Up
From → To Actions
0 → 2 Apply vendor hardening guide and remove default creds.
2 → 3 Enforce RBAC for console access and document changes.
3 → 4 Enable logging and integrate with SIEM.
4 → 5 Automate compliance drift detection.

  1. People / Process / Technology Enablers
    People – Virtualization Admin, Security Engineer.
    Process – Patch review, RBAC audit, access monitoring.
    Technology – VMware, KVM, Proxmox, Wazuh.

  2. Evidence Required
    Hardening checklist, access audit logs, patch records.

  3. Metrics / KPIs
    • percentage of hypervisors patched within SLA
    • number of admin accounts with shared credentials
    • average time to remediate hypervisor vulnerabilities

  4. Low-Cost / Open-Source Options (MSME)

Purpose Tool Notes
Virtualization Proxmox VE / KVM Enterprise-grade free hypervisors.
Hardening OpenSCAP / Lynis Security benchmark verification.
Logging Wazuh / Loki Hypervisor event monitoring.

  1. Common Pitfalls
    Neglecting patch cycles; excessive admin privileges; no isolation testing.

  2. Compliance Mapping

Standard Clauses / Notes
ISO 27001 A.8.10 / A.8.9.
NIST CSF 2.0 PR.PT-4 / PR.AC-3.
CERT-In 2022 Virtualization security baseline.
NIRMATA Scoring IS-Q06 ≥ Level 4 requires RBAC and audit logging.