Cross-VM Side Channel Attack
Cross-VM side channel attack is a technique through which a hacker can secretly access information being processed in one virtual machine by another virtual machine running on the same physical server.
To understand this, you first need to understand what a virtual machine is. Imagine you have a big computer that you have divided into smaller computers, each running a separate operating system. Each of these smaller computers is called a virtual machine, or VM. The virtual machines are isolated from each other so that they cannot directly communicate with one another.
However, due to the way computer hardware and software work, there are ways for a resourceful hacker to exploit and eavesdrop on data being processed within each virtual machine. These exploits are known as side channel attacks.
Cross-VM side channel attacks occur when a hacker gains access to sensitive data being processed in one virtual machine by monitoring the behavior of the hardware resources and software algorithms that are shared by all virtual machines running on the same server. This means that unsecured data transmitted between two virtual machines can be accessed by a hacker looking to intercept and steal it.
Such attacks can be carried out in different ways, including through the hypervisor layer in the computer system, or by using shared resources such as memory or storage.
Overall, it’s important for companies and tech developers to take preventive measures to protect virtual machines from these types of attacks, through encryption, access controls, and other cybersecurity measures, to ensure the safety and secrecy of their data.