Best Practices for Hypervisor Security

1. Mitigate Specter and Meltdown: These flaws in current computer processors can be used to get access to confidential data. Organizations should install software updates, set operating systems and programs to only execute secure processor instructions, and restrict the exchange of sensitive data between virtual machines to lessen the impact of these risks.
2. Patch Hypervisor Regularly Hosts: To fix known flaws and fend against potential threats, the hypervisor must be patched and updated on a regular basis.
3. Limit Access to Hypervisor Host Management: Only authorized individuals should have access to the hypervisor host management. To prevent unwanted access, organizations should have strong authentication measures in place, such as multi-factor authentication. 
4. Audit Access to Hypervisor Hosts: Organizations should routinely audit access to hypervisor hosts, keeping an eye out for unauthorized or unusual access attempts.
5. Limiting Network Access to Hypervisor Host Management: Only secure networks should have access to the hypervisor host management, which should be segregated from open networks. To enforce network access limits, organizations should utilize firewalls and other network security tools.
6. Use virtual machine encryption: Even if the virtual machine is compromised, encryption can stop unauthorized access to critical data.
7. Use UEFI Secure Boot: UEFI Secure Boot can help to prevent the execution of malicious programs during the boot process. Utilizing UEFI secure boot will assist organizations to protect against malicious attacks and preserve the integrity of the hypervisor. 
8. Use virtualization-based security (VBS): VBS is a feature that protects virtual machines at the hardware level, assisting in preventing attackers from infiltrating the hypervisor or gaining access to confidential information. To increase the security of the virtualized environment, organizations should deploy VBS. 

These best practices can help organizations enhance the security of their virtualized environment and reduce the risk of potential attacks. It is important to regularly review and update security measures to stay ahead of evolving threats. 

Pre-requisite: Cloud Computing

A Hypervisor is a layer of software that enables virtualization by creating and managing virtual machines (VMs). It acts as a bridge between the physical hardware and the virtualized environment. Each VM can run independently of one other because the hypervisor abstracts the underlying physical hardware and offers a virtual environment for each one. This makes it possible for several virtual machines (VMs) to share the same physical resources, such as CPU, memory, and storage, improving resource utilization and lowering costs for both the cloud provider and the end user.

The two primary categories of hypervisors are: 

1. Type 1 Hypervisor: Bare-metal hypervisors, also referred to as type 1 hypervisors, operate directly on the physical host and give access to the underlying hardware. 
2. Type 2 Hypervisor: Type 2 hypervisors, commonly referred to as hosted hypervisors, function as virtualization services for numerous VMs while running on an operating system.