Hypervisors, the Next Big Target for Hackers

Google Warns of Cyber Trends Gaining Traction Akshaya Asokan (asokan_akshaya) , David Perera (@daveperera) • November 4, 2025

The virtualized layer of technology underpinning modern IT deployments is transforming from a strength to a cybersecurity vulnerability, warns Google in a report extrapolating current trends through the next year.

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A confluence of factors are meeting to convert yesterday's once paradisiac virtualized environments into a "critical blind spot," says Google Cloud Security in a forecast for 2026. While security teams concentrated on securing endpoints, the core virtualization fabric has gone mostly unmonitored by endpoint detection and response, and slipped into outdated software versions configured by insecure defaults, the cloud giant says.

"When combined with deep-seated integrations into legacy core identity services, the hypervisor transforms from an infrastructure component into a high-leverage entry point, where a single compromise can grant adversaries ...