National Cybersecurity Strategy: Data Protection with Virtualized Security

Virtualization security can enable organizations to apply the approaches and tactics of the new U.S. National Cybersecurity Strategy strategy in virtualized environments.

The National Cybersecurity Strategy, released in March 2023, is a global plan for addressing ongoing and upcoming cyber threats. The updated strategy goes beyond the usual network protection strengthening tactics towards shaping proactive and continuous cybersecurity processes.

Time-tested practices combined with the latest virtual protection solutions can play an effective role both in solving the current protection needs and supporting the required long-term dynamics, laid out in the strategy.

The Role of Virtualized Security

Virtualized security, also known as virtualization security, is the set of measures, practices and software solutions created and implemented purposely to protect virtualized environments. Given the high level of virtualization use—for example, 80% of x86 servers are virtualized—makes such practices key in reaching the security objectives of the National Cybersecurity Strategy.

Such security practices are especially important to handle threats specific to virtualized, software-based versions of computer infrastructures. This includes virtual machine (VM) security, VM sprawl or hypervisor vulnerabilities. However, organizations also can use virtualized security practices and solutions to address common problems like ransomware, security breaches, unauthorized access and data loss.

Best practices for enhancing the security and reliability of virtualized infrastructures include:

• Implementing robust access controls to apply the principle of least privilege and reduce insider threats

• Providing regular updates of hypervisors and virtualization software to patch vulnerabilities before malicious actors exploit them

• Employing sensitive data encryption to prevent unauthorized access

• Using virtual network segmentation to increase overall resilience to cyber attacks

• Utilizing active threat monitoring to detect suspicious behavior within virtualized environments

• Conducting assessments of protection systems to reveal and fix weaknesses that would otherwise remain hidden

• Educating staff to increase their awareness of cyber threats in virtualized infrastructures

• Introducing regular data backup and efficient recovery workflows to avoid critical system downtime and data loss

Virtualized Security Benefits in Line with Strategy Goals

In general, integrating virtualization security solutions and practices creates an efficient multilayered cybersecurity system. This system can help organizations align their information technology (IT) protection capabilities with the goals of the National Cybersecurity Strategy due to:

• Enhanced infrastructure resilience. The complex security measures including antiviruses, monitoring tools, regular updates, encryption and assessment help prevent breaches more effectively. This ensures critical infrastructure protection, which is the first pillar of the National Cybersecurity Strategy.

• Improved incident response. Deploying internal firewalls, network segmentation and breach notification can accelerate and improve emergency reaction times. Organizations can then mitigate the outcomes of a breach and contact investigators faster, ensuring more efficient tracking of malicious actors. This boosts the development of protection solutions and helps to “disrupt and dismantle” cybercriminal groups, as the strategy prescribes.

• Adaptive defenses against evolving cyber threats. Virtualized security solutions are flexible and can keep up with the development pace of cyberattacks, which are getting more sophisticated and dangerous. With a strategy that prioritizes long-term cybersecurity investments, the opportunity to adjust the existing protection system instead of building a new one is critical.

In addition, various entities worldwide must cooperate to support and improve the efficiency of virtualized security. The united effort of IT experts, business executives and governmental institutions can help spread the latest cybersecurity practices and develop robust solutions. Global cooperation, which is one of the pillars of the National Cybersecurity Strategy, can push industry standards forward to ensure long-term protection and resilience of IT infrastructures.

It is important to note that virtualized security does not replace or interfere with traditional cybersecurity measures but complements them. Virtualized environments are infrastructures within infrastructures, with their own connections, dependencies and vulnerabilities. The set of virtualization-specific security tools and practices creates additional barriers for hackers where physical protection does not reach.

Powerful multilayered security enables IT experts to prevent or interrupt a disaster after an end user’s mistake that leads to a breach. Virtualization security can also help isolate a malicious agent inside the virtualized environment. Alternatively, virtualized barriers can secure critical virtual workloads and data when physical protection measures fail. In all cases, the overall resilience of IT infrastructures is improved.

Future Virtualized Security Trends and Strategy Adaptations

Virtualization adoption is still an ongoing trend worldwide. Cloud and hybrid virtualization deserve special attention as an area of urgent security innovation. Cyber threats grow along with the evolution of IT technologies, regularly posing new challenges.

Due to that, dedicated solutions for threat detection (for example, Trellix) data backup and recovery and automated incident response (VMware AppDefense), among others, can help organizations limit the impact of end-user mistakes on digital infrastructure and gain additional control over protection activities. This responsibility shift and improved outcome mitigation capabilities are vital to ensure long-term infrastructure security and reliability to the extent specified by the National Cybersecurity Strategy.

Nina Diachenko is the head of digital marketing at NAKIVO, where she creates and executes digital strategies. She has worked in the digital content industry for more than seven years, improving the digital capabilities of organizations.