Highest-Level Security Certification for vSphere 5

Common Criteria certification at Evaluation Assurance Level 4 (EAL4+) for VMware vSphere 5

VMware vSphere 5 has been awarded with an advanced security certification. VMware has worked with Corsec Security, Inc., and CGI in order to achieve this certification.  CGI Group has got an acredited lab which was necessary to complete the evaluation.

Common Criteria does test if the security functional requirements were met through a rigorous standards based evaluation process. In this process there were functional and vulnerability tests. Also the tests has been conducted to prove the Flaw Remediation, which evaluates VMware’s processes for supporting vSphere 5.0 with future security and maintenance updates.

You can find all VMware present ongoing certifications on this page.

Here is a quick quote from the press release:

Common Criteria is an international set of guidelines (ISO 15408) that provides a common framework for evaluating security features and capabilities of Information Technology (IT) security products, and EAL4+ is the highest assurance level that is recognized globally by all signatories under the Common Criteria Recognition Agreement (CCRA).

“Cloud computing is a top priority for CIOs of government IT organizations,” said Aileen Black, vice president, public sector, VMware. “With VMware vSphere 5.0, government organizations can trust that they have a solid and reliable platform to achieve the benefits of cloud computing while maintaining the security, control and efficiency they require.”

With VMware vSphere 5.0 achieving EAL4+ certification, this marks the completion of an intensive effort during which VMware vSphere 5.0 was examined, tested and certified at EAL4+, validating that VMware vSphere is one of the most proven platforms for modern IT infrastructure.

“CGI is pleased to support VMware's continuing commitment to providing Common Criteria certified products for use worldwide,” said Jason Lawlor, lab director at CGI's IT Security Evaluation and Test Facility. “The growth of virtualized environments adds to the requirement for providing customers with certified solutions that have been tested to recognize industry standards like Common Criteria. VMware continues to be a leader in this regard.”

Source: Marketwire and VMware Blog