Detecting Migration of Virtual Machines

Hardware virtualization, i.e., introducing an additional layer of abstraction (Hypervisor) between hardware and software is the basis for current applications such as cloud computing, energy efficient operation of communication networks, and high performance computing. Hypervisors like Proxmox enable running multiple virtual machines in parallel, on the same physical machine. By decoupling hardware and software, virtual machines may be migrated online (during operation) between physical machines. From a security perspective, virtualization and migration of virtual machines offer new ways for realizing security mechanisms but also new attack vectors. Besides attacks on the level of the hypervisor, in particular in the context of migration of virtual machines, attacks on the level of the communication network must be taken into consideration.