Security Implications

Question:

Analyze the security implications of using virtual machines. Discuss potential vulnerabilities such as hypervisor attacks, VM escape, and inter$-$VM attacks. Suggest best practices for securing virtual environments.

Answer must contains:

$1.$Potential Vulnerabilities:

$($i$)$Hypervisor Attacks: Exploiting vulnerabilities in the hypervisor to gain control over VMs$.$

$($ii$)$VM Escape: An attack that allows a VM to break out and interact with the host system.

$($iii$)$Inter$-$VM Attacks: VMs on the same host attacking each other.

$2.$Security Measures:

$($i$)$Hypervisor Security: Regularly update and patch hypervisors, use minimal privileged access.

$($ii$)$Network Segmentation: Isolate VMs from different security domains.

$($iii$)$Intrusion Detection Systems $($IDS$)$: Monitor and analyze VM traffic for malicious activity.

$3.$Best Practices:

$($i$)$Apply principle of least privilege.

$($ii$)$Encrypt VM disk images and data in transit.

$($iii$)$Use strong authentication and access controls.

Explain each part in depth.