A new study by Kaspersky Lab has revealed that one-third of UK businesses invest in security for their physical environments, leaving virtual ones dangerously exposed.
In addition to this 42% of companies believe their virtual servers are more secure than physical ones. This is despite the fact that one in three respondents admitted their knowledge of virtualised environments is "basic".
Kaspersky warns that this lack of knowledge is putting virtualised environments at risk. "There is no doubt that the business benefits of virtualisation are huge – both in terms of cost and accessibility," said Peter Beardmore, senior director of products and services at Kaspersky said. "But underestimating the security risks puts businesses of all sizes in a perilous position."
"The lack of knowledge shown by IT professionals is the main culprit, so businesses really need to invest in understanding the concept of virtualisation. Basic knowledge is simply not sufficient when the security of your business is at stake. The industry needs to wake up to this situation and invest in adequate security solutions alongside a comprehensive education programme," Beardmore added.
Earlier this year the Russian security firm unveiled is Security for Virtualisation product. It will integrate VMware’s vShield Endpoint to provide virtual IT infrastructures with Kaspersky’s centralised anti-malware technology.
Security firms have been increasingly turning their attention to virtualised environments. In October last year Trend Micro revamped its Deep Security server protection platform to cover physical, virtual and cloud servers.
Earlier this year McAfee released a similar product, as did Sophos.
