<s>
Hyperjacking	B-General_Concept
is	O
an	O
attack	O
in	O
which	O
a	O
hacker	O
takes	O
malicious	O
control	O
over	O
the	O
hypervisor	B-Operating_System
that	O
creates	O
the	O
virtual	O
environment	O
within	O
a	O
virtual	B-Architecture
machine	I-Architecture
(	O
VM	O
)	O
host	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
point	O
of	O
the	O
attack	O
is	O
to	O
target	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
that	O
is	O
below	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
virtual	B-Architecture
machines	I-Architecture
so	O
that	O
the	O
attacker	O
's	O
program	O
can	O
run	O
and	O
the	O
applications	O
on	O
the	O
VMs	O
above	O
it	O
will	O
be	O
completely	O
oblivious	O
to	O
its	O
presence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hyperjacking	B-General_Concept
involves	O
installing	O
a	O
malicious	O
,	O
fake	O
hypervisor	B-Operating_System
that	O
can	O
manage	O
the	O
entire	O
server	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Regular	O
security	O
measures	O
are	O
ineffective	O
because	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
will	O
not	O
be	O
aware	O
that	O
the	O
machine	O
has	O
been	O
compromised	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
hyperjacking	B-General_Concept
,	O
the	O
hypervisor	B-Operating_System
specifically	O
operates	O
in	O
stealth	O
mode	O
and	O
runs	O
beneath	O
the	O
machine	O
,	O
it	O
makes	O
it	O
more	O
difficult	O
to	O
detect	O
and	O
more	O
likely	O
to	O
gain	O
access	O
to	O
computer	O
servers	O
where	O
it	O
can	O
affect	O
the	O
operation	O
of	O
the	O
entire	O
institution	O
or	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
hacker	O
gains	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
hypervisor	B-Operating_System
,	O
everything	O
that	O
is	O
connected	O
to	O
that	O
server	O
can	O
be	O
manipulated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hypervisor	B-Operating_System
represents	O
a	O
single	O
point	O
of	O
failure	O
when	O
it	O
comes	O
to	O
the	O
security	O
and	O
protection	O
of	O
sensitive	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
a	O
hyperjacking	B-General_Concept
attack	O
to	O
succeed	O
,	O
an	O
attacker	O
would	O
have	O
to	O
take	O
control	O
of	O
the	O
hypervisor	B-Operating_System
by	O
the	O
following	O
methods	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
basic	O
design	O
features	O
in	O
a	O
virtual	O
environment	O
can	O
help	O
mitigate	O
the	O
risks	O
of	O
hyperjacking	B-General_Concept
:	O
</s>
<s>
Security	O
management	O
of	O
the	O
hypervisor	B-Operating_System
must	O
be	O
kept	O
separate	O
from	O
regular	O
traffic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
a	O
more	O
network	O
related	O
measure	O
than	O
hypervisor	B-Operating_System
itself	O
related	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Guest	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
should	O
never	O
have	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
hypervisor	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Regularly	O
patching	O
the	O
hypervisor	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
early	O
2015	O
,	O
there	O
had	O
not	O
been	O
any	O
report	O
of	O
an	O
actual	O
demonstration	O
of	O
a	O
successful	O
hyperjacking	B-General_Concept
besides	O
"	O
proof	O
of	O
concept	O
"	O
testing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
VENOM	B-General_Concept
vulnerability	I-General_Concept
(	O
)	O
was	O
revealed	O
in	O
May	O
2015	O
and	O
had	O
the	O
potential	O
to	O
affect	O
many	O
datacenters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hyperjackings	B-General_Concept
are	O
rare	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
difficulty	O
of	O
directly	O
accessing	O
hypervisors	B-Operating_System
;	O
however	O
,	O
hyperjacking	B-General_Concept
is	O
considered	O
a	O
real-world	O
threat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
September	O
29	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
Mandiant	O
and	O
VMware	O
jointly	O
made	O
public	O
their	O
findings	O
that	O
a	O
hacker	O
group	O
has	O
successfully	O
executed	O
malware-based	O
hyperjacking	B-General_Concept
attacks	O
in	O
the	O
wild	O
,	O
affecting	O
multiple	O
target	O
systems	O
in	O
an	O
apparent	O
espionage	O
campaign	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
response	O
,	O
Mandiant	O
released	O
a	O
security	O
guide	O
with	O
recommendations	O
for	O
hardening	O
the	O
VMware	O
ESXi	O
hypervisor	B-Operating_System
environment	O
.	O
</s>
