The ideal versus the real: A brief history of secure isolation in virtual machines and containers

Abstract

The common perception in both academic literature and and the industry today is that virtual machines offer better security, while containers offer better performance, however a detailed review of the history of these technologies and the current threats they face reveals a very different story. This talk is an early preview of a survey paper covering key developments in the history of virtual machines and containers from the 1950’s to today, with an emphasis on shattering myths and seeking a viable path forward for secure isolation in large-scale multitenant deployments such as cloud and containers.

Allison Randal

PhD Student