Defensive Security - Securing ESXi Hosts

This section provides information about securing ESXi hosts using VM encryption.

Configuring Smart Card Authentication for ESXi

You can use smart card authentication to log in to the ESXi Direct Console User Interface (DCUI) by using a Personal Identity Verification (PIV), Common Access Card (CAC) or SC650 smart card instead specifying a username and password.

ESXi Log Files and Audit Records

Log files are an important component of troubleshooting attacks and obtaining information about breaches. Logging to a secure, centralized log server can help prevent log tampering. Remote logging also provides a long-term audit record.

Audit records conform to RFC 5424 and contain information about events pertaining to items such as the time, status, description, and user information logged for events that have occurred from actions on ESXi hosts. Both local and remote audit record keeping are available. Audit record keeping is deactivated by default. You must manually activate both local and remote auditing modes.