Trend Micro announces Core Protection for Virtual Machines

Trend Micro Core Protection for Virtual Machines is designed to secure VMware virtual machines, both active and dormant, comprehensively and efficiently.

The product leverages the VMsafe APIs from VMware to offer layered protection through the use of dedicated scanning VMs coordinated with real-time agents within the VM.

"We were interested to try out Trend Micro Core Protection for Virtual Machines since most security solutions are focused on the operating system software and this was the first solution we found for addressing the unique aspects of virtual machines,"

said Terence Snijtsheuvel, a Senior Consultant at Compugen, one of Canada's largest privately owned and operated IT services providers and PC systems integrators.

A Growing Need for Virtual Datacenter Security

A tough economy is driving companies globally to adopt more cost-effective measures and pursue efficiency, one of the main reasons why analysts expect the virtualization industry to hit over $7bn over the next four years.

But while server virtualization increases efficiency in the data center, it also challenges the security of the IT environment: Existing content security solutions imported from the physical world typically leave security gaps when deployed in virtual environments. For example, dormant or offline virtual machines can get infected even while dormant, yet are unable to protect themselves with a virus scan agent and signature updates.

Similarly, resource-intensive security operations such as scheduled full system scans can significantly degrade the performance of the host and render the security ineffective, especially when initiated concurrently on multiple virtual machines.

Trend Micro Core Protection for Virtual Machines addresses these issues and enables enterprises to maximize the economic benefits of virtualization without compromising the security of their datacenter.

"To protect virtual environments, the main challenge is to deal with the many virtual machines that are dormant at any point in time. Even when not in use, virtual machines can be attacked and are especially vulnerable since traditional scans are not being done and pattern files are not being updated while they are dormant," said Snijtsheuvel. "With Core Protection for Virtual Machines, Trend Micro aims to offer a security solution that protects active and dormant virtual machines and therefore the entire infrastructure."

The new Trend Micro Core Protection for Virtual Machines:

- Is optimized for virtualization and closes the security gaps unique to virtualized environments. It secures dormant and active virtual machines by providing scanning and pattern updates from a separate scanning virtual machine; and improves the performance profile of virtual servers.
- Provides world-class malware protection by ensuring that virtual machines are secure even when dormant and ready to go with the latest pattern updates whenever activated. Protects active virtual machines against disruptive actions by malware such as Conficker by providing a layer of isolation for the security agent from the machine being scanned.
- Simplifies management by integrating tightly with the VMware management infrastructure, reducing the complexity of managing security within virtual environments. Continuous synchronization with vCenter allows security solution to monitor virtual machine dynamics and manage virtual machine sprawl.
- Is easy to deploy and will seamlessly fit into a Trend Micro OfficeScan deployment, allowing central management from the same OfficeScan console used to manage desktops and physical servers.

"As virtualization revolutionizes computing, it is introducing new risks to the security of the datacenter," said Tom Miller, General Manager for the enterprise business unit at Trend Micro. "Trend Micro Core Protection for Virtual Machines goes further than any other product in the industry towards providing specialized content security for virtual servers, both active and dormant, in today's dynamic datacenter."

Part of Trend Micro Enterprise Security

Trend Micro Core Protection for Virtual Machines is part of Trend Micro Enterprise Security - a tightly integrated offering of content security products, services and solutions which is powered by the Trend Micro Smart Protection Network. Trend Micro Enterprise Security delivers immediate protection from emerging threats while greatly reducing the cost and complexity of security management.