As a security professional I'm particularly sensible to this topic so I'm very happy to report the news: In November 2005 VMware issued a call for presentations about virtualization serving for security purposes to be presented in Cambridge. Three presentations were selected:

• Better Security with Virtual Machines
• Performance Implications of Anti-Virus Execution on a Virtual Platform
• Automated Defense from Rootkit Attacks

The first one is particularly interesting not just because it refers to some upcoming ESX Server 3.0 and VirtualCenter 2.0 features, but also cause it underlines where VMware could concentrate forces in the near future:

• Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) embedded in the virtualization layer
• Real-time hardware modification on attack detection (e.g.: virtual switch unbinding)
• Automated virtual-machines revert to safe snapshots

A real pity to not have the whole voice recording for them.