With security standing as the number one problem in computer networking, Windows Server 2016 steps to the plate with an OS platform that promises much deeper safeguarding of data and communication, and defenses against malicious cyber attacks and breaches. The new Windows Server enhances the security of virtual machines, applications, and data with better protection of administrator credentials and applications, with security threats meeting with much faster detection and better chance of prevention.
Secure Virtualization
The Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V Shielded Virtual Machines option protects virtual machines from corrupted fabric and will also improve compliance – good news for those in at-risk industries. SVMs protects on many different vectors, with Hyper-V service put into data centers for security assurance. Malicious hosts trying to attack SVMs stand a much lesser chance of succeeding with Windows Server 2016’s many roaming “security guards” that watch user data and connections like hawks.
Protection, Detection, and Response
Windows Server 2016 includes built-in breach resistance mechanisms to thwart attacks on your systems and help you meet compliance guidelines. Even if someone finds a way into your virtualized environment, the damage they can cause is greatly limited by the various layers of security built into every Windows Server 2016 system. Several credential isolation and threat defense capabilities are activated upon deployment. Other security features can be enabled as needed to help users:
- Block Pass-the-Hash attacks and other attempts to compromise admin credentials;
- Prevent malware and ransomware from being injected into servers;
- Quickly identify behavior that indicates a server breach;
- Extend protection that exists for your physical servers to your virtual machines.
Increasingly sophisticated attacks require new layers of security.
The evolvement of cyber threats has made it harder than ever for IT to secure their applications and data. Attackers are deploying more sophisticated exploits, often using compromised, highly privileged admin credentials to control access. These credentials make it easy for them to remain undetected for long periods of time or create an instant, devastating attack (such as a zero-day exploit).
Added to that, virtualized environments are particularly at risk. Virtual machines don’t have the hardware-rooted security capabilities of physical servers. Since virtual machines are instantiated from files that can be copied and modified, any attacker that can access the fabric storage, network, or compute resources immediately has unchecked privileges for all virtual machines. An attacker can simply copy your SQL and domain controller VMs into a USB drive and walk out with your crown jewels.
Windows Server 2016 provides enterprise-scale security performance, enabling organizations to comply with the strictest organizational and industry-specific regulatory standards. Infrastructure and applications are protected on-premises and in the cloud, on both physical and virtual servers.
“Shielded Virtual Machines simplifies the way we secure VM workloads; in the past, it was complex or impossible. Now, we shield it and we’re done,” comments Rand Morimoto, President of Convergent Computing on the subject of enhanced security in the new Windows Server.
Need More Help with Windows Server 2016?
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