ESXi Lockdown Mode is a security feature in VMware ESXi that restricts direct access to the ESXi host, allowing access only through vCenter Server. This feature is designed to enhance security by preventing unauthorized users from modifying the ESXi host…
I have been awarded membership in the VMware vExpert Special Honors Subprogram “vExpert Security” for my contribution to sharing knowledge of VMware Security topics through this blog. Thank you to the VMware Community for this recognition and for encouraging us…
Encrypting data drives makes sense on a laptop. If you turn it off and it gets lost, a key has to be provided to decrypt the data on the drives to make it readable. But what about the disks of…
In a previous article, I described how to activate UEFI Boot, which will disable the ESXi OS from loading 3rd party packages. What is execInstalledOnly enforcement? execInstalledOnly will ensure that non-signed scripts can be run against the ESXi. Important to…
UEFI Secure Boot is a platform feature within the UEFI specification that ensures the system boots using only the software trusted by the hardware manufacturer. Secure Boot provides a verification mechanism in which the firmware validates a boot loader before executing…
In the evolving threat landscape, vCenter Server and ESXi hosts remain high-value targets in the data center. As the foundational control and compute planes of your virtual infrastructure, securing them is essential. Whether you’re operating in a regulated environment or…
Ever wondered how you can give a user access to some artifacts within a vCenter and then deny the same user access to other artifacts? The access hierarchy in vCenter is role-based, leveraging permissions applied at various object levels in…
This is part 1. Imagine a scenario where you deploy an application environment, and when you face a challenge with your environment or decide to upgrade a software component, you destroy it and redeploy it. I catch myself way too…
