Advantages and disadvantages of VDI secure virtual terminals

In this article, we will look at what VDI means for enterprise terminal security and how to assess and mitigate VDI security risks.

In recent years, with the concept of virtualization sweeping the IT world, the distinction between networked and disconnected devices has completely changed. Virtualization enables organizations to run multiple servers or clients on a single hardware. In fact, a device that is physically connected to a network can have several different IP addresses connected to each of the different NICs (network interface cards). By creating virtual machine management programs, you can blur network connections and make great progress in data storage, server infrastructure, and computer network security.

These advances are reflected in a concept called VDI (Virtual Desktop infrastructure), which refers to a desktop OS like Microsoft Windows operating entirely on a VM (virtual machine). Because of the advantages of VDI for system management, many enterprises have already deployed VDI. Before transitioning from a traditional network architecture, organizations must also take into account the security risks and benefits of VDI.

In this article, we will look at what VDI means for enterprise terminal security and how to assess and mitigate VDI security risks.

VDI Security Advantages

VDI enables the decentralized deployment of virtual desktops in a given network of different nodes. Therefore, if a particular organization wants his users to operate on a Windows 7 system, the system administrator simply assigns a baseline image to each node of the network.

Virtual terminals offer several different advantages in terms of security. First, it allows the system administrator to control the baseline image types assigned to each node from a central location. If a particular operating system is found to have a serious security vulnerability and no patches or upgrades are available, the system administrator simply restarts the OS version and assigns a different OS version to each user. In addition, the system administrator can assign a completely different operating system that does not need to leave the system administrator's cubicle at all. Comparing the current approach to the one used by the system administrator in the past, administrators need to check each computer and perform a full operating system reload process. It is clear that desktop virtualization can be an effective tactic for mitigating the risk of terminal platforms.

VDI can also achieve more robust security settings than traditional networks. When malware successfully invades a virtual network, for example, an administrator can simply remove any OS that has detected malicious software without worrying about impacting the host OS. While capturing this advantage depends largely on effective malware detection capabilities, this is a significant advantage in resource savings and security.

Virtualization is not a "cure-all" skill

Everything is equal, as mentioned above, VDI ensures a more flexible and adaptable security posture than the traditional network terminal infrastructure. But most of the time, when situations may require a deeper sense of vigilance, the system administrator treats virtualization as a crutch. Sensible system administrators should be aware of the fact that the detected malware can be propagated through a VDI based network, just as it can simply pass through a traditional network. For example, a section might include malicious software code that can invoke the CPUID directive. Because the execution of the CPUID call must come from a unprivileged process, the information returned by the function call can indicate whether a virtual machine exists or not. If a virtual machine is detected, the code either automatically deletes itself or propagates to other network connection devices that do not find the virtual machine. For malware attacks, VDI can be handled very flexibly, but it is not completely immune to other infected network-connected devices.

Advantage is stronger than disadvantage

Terminal virtualization is mostly good news for enterprise security. Although the challenges of malware remain, the VDI based network provides an opportunity for system administrators to more easily protect and manage user desktops. Virtualization can provide a significant boost in security as long as the organization takes the necessary precautions for VDI.