Security analysis of recovered data in cloud based hypervisor virtual machines

Abstract

Virtualization is the foundational element of cloud computing. With the advancement in virtualization technology, virtual machines (VMs) are increasingly used by both; Data Centre and the end users, the data centres are increasingly dependent on the VMs [1]. The proliferation of virtualization environment provides a completely virtualized set of hardware to the operating system that results in increased number of illegal and inappropriate activities in the cloud environment. Virtual Machines can be both; major target of a cyber-attack or an attack vector, therefore they pertain an added level of risk; particularly corruption of data in storage and transit [2]. The focus of this research is on the acquisition as well as security and forensic analysis of the virtual machines related files from the host operating system. Further it focuses on the effects of the incidents, secure recovery and analysis of the data in hypervisor based virtual machines in cloud computing environment.