Virtual servers introduce new security threats

bednarz writes: "IT managers worry that security attacks designed to exploit a hypervisor could infect virtual machines that reside on the same physical host, in what is known as a "virtual-machine escape." If a virtual machine is able to "escape" the isolated environment in which it resides and interact with the parent hypervisor, industry experts say it's possible an attacker could gain access to the hypervisor, which controls other virtual machines, and avoid security controls designed to protect the virtual machine. "The Holy Grail of security in the virtual world is to bounce out of the [virtual machine] and take control," said Burton Group analyst Pete Lindstrom."