Which of the following observations should be of GREATEST concern to an IS auditor reviewing a hosted virtualized environment where each guest operating system (OS) is running a production application?
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A. B. C. D.B.
The greatest concern for an IS auditor reviewing a hosted virtualized environment where each guest operating system (OS) is running a production application would be option C, "Access to virtualization utilities and tools in the host is not restricted."
Virtualization is the process of creating a virtual environment that simulates a computer system, including hardware, operating system, and applications. A hosted virtualized environment means that a hypervisor (virtual machine manager) is installed on a physical server, and multiple guest operating systems (virtual machines) can run on it simultaneously. In this scenario, each guest OS is running a production application, meaning that any issues with the virtual environment can have a significant impact on the application's availability, integrity, and confidentiality.
Option A, "All virtual machines are launching an application backup job at the same time," may cause performance issues or network congestion, but it is a common practice to schedule backups during off-peak hours to minimize disruption to production systems.
Option B, "There are file shares between the host OS and the guest OS," may increase the attack surface of the virtual environment, but it is not necessarily a security risk if proper access controls and monitoring are in place.
Option D, "The test environment of the applications is in a separate guest OS," is actually a good practice to isolate development or testing activities from production systems.
Option C, "Access to virtualization utilities and tools in the host is not restricted," is a significant risk because it allows a user with access to the host OS to manipulate the virtual machines, change their configurations, access their data, or launch attacks. For example, an attacker can use a compromised host OS to bypass the security controls of the guest OS, install malware, or steal sensitive information. Similarly, an authorized user who has access to virtualization utilities and tools can accidentally or intentionally cause a configuration error or a system crash that affects the production applications.
Therefore, an IS auditor should prioritize reviewing the access controls and monitoring mechanisms for the virtualization utilities and tools in the host OS to ensure that only authorized users can use them and that their actions are logged and audited. Additionally, the auditor should verify that the virtual machines are properly configured and secured according to industry standards and best practices, such as disabling unnecessary services and ports, applying patches and updates, using strong authentication and encryption, and isolating network traffic. Finally, the auditor should assess the backup and recovery procedures for the virtual machines and their data to ensure that they are reliable and tested regularly.