Risks of NFV
Security hazards do exist, though, and network functions virtualization security issues have shown to be a barrier to widespread adoption among telecom companies. The following are some dangers associated with implementing network function virtualization that service providers should take into account:
- Physical security measures do not work: Comparing virtualized network components to locked-down physical equipment in a data center enhances their susceptibility to new types of assaults.
- Malware is difficult to isolate and contain: Malware travels more easily among virtual components running on the same virtual computer than between hardware components that can be isolated or physically separated.
- Network activity is less visible: Because traditional traffic monitoring tools struggle to detect potentially malicious anomalies in network traffic going east-west between virtual machines, NFV necessitates more fine-grained security solutions.
Network Functions Virtualization
The term “Network Functions Virtualization” (NFV) refers to the use of virtual machines in place of physical network appliances. There is a requirement for a hypervisor to operate networking software and procedures like load balancing and routing by virtual computers. A network functions virtualization standard was first proposed at the OpenFlow World Congress in 2012 by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), a group of service providers that includes AT&T, China Mobile, BT Group, Deutsche Telekom, and many more.