Europe’s virtual peril

A survey done by O+K Research has revealed that 62% of European companies have implemented server virtualisation, but 55% of them are unconcerned about security. This is a mindset that needs to change says Kaspersky Labs, as virtual security risks are equal to those found in a physical environment.

More than half of businesses that have already adopted or are planning to adopt virtualization technology have no intention of implementing the relevant security for their virtual environments. This alarming figure came to light following a recent survey on virtualization by O+K Research. The survey was conducted among IT professionals working in medium and large businesses that already have virtual infrastructure in place or plan implementation in the near future.

Conducted in March 2012, the survey reveals that the level of virtual infrastructure adoption is high. In particular, 62% of European companies are currently implementing or have already implemented server virtualization, 35% plan to implement a virtual desktop infrastructure and 33% plan data storage virtualization. The survey also indicates that experience of using virtualization technologies is considerable: in Europe this figure is slightly less than two years.

42% of European professionals working in IT believe that the security risks in a virtual environment are lower or significantly lower than those for physical infrastructure. The more justified perception of virtual security risks being at least equal to those in a physical environment is shared by 36% of IT pros.

The level of adoption of specialised security technology in virtual environments is alarmingly low. 55% of European companies are either not interested in agent-less security solutions for virtual infrastructure or interested, but not planning to adopt it. Only 18% of European companies have confirmed the implementation of such security for their virtual infrastructure.

The low adoption level of virtualization-specific security solutions cannot be explained by their complexity. As an example, the recent Kaspersky Security for Virtualization solution from Kaspersky Lab is fully compatible with the VMware platform and is easy to deploy thanks to its agent-less approach. The solution is installed as a security appliance for each physical host, and automatically protects all virtual machines running on it. There is no need to install and maintain the security solution on a virtual machine itself. At the same time, Kaspersky Security for Virtualization can be integrated into the wider IT security infrastructure where physical and virtual machines as well as mobile devices are protected and centrally managed by Kaspersky Lab’s solutions.

‚This survey shows that the perception of virtual security risks among businesses worldwide is alarmingly unsound. We believe that virtual infrastructure has to be treated with the utmost attention in terms of security, and failure to do so could result in significant damage,‚ warns Konstantin Voronkov, Senior Product Manager of Virtualization Solutions at Kaspersky Lab. ‚We also see that most companies are simultaneously facing security issues in both virtual and physical environments. That is why Kaspersky Security for Virtualization provides specialised agent-less security for virtual environments and integrates with Kaspersky Security Center, the management console designed to handle security challenges across the entire corporate infrastructure.‚

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