Mitigating Security Threats in Virtualized Environments

This paper reviews and provides clarification to the meaning and concept of cloud computing with particular reference to Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and its underlying virtualization technologies. The categories of cloud computing and key characteristics of cloud environment are also discussed. A review of virtualization technologies and approaches is presented with key vulnerabilities to security threats and mitigation strategies and countermeasures are also presented. This knowledge is imperative in making virtual Information Technology (IT) environment more secure and robust and can help improve the operational efficiency of Virtual Machines (VMs) in such a manner that organizations can benefit from virtualization technology in particular and the cloud computing systems in general.