RSA SecurBook for VMware View

RSA®
SecurBook
for VMware View®

A Guide for Deploying and Administering the
RSA Solution for VMware View

The RSA Solution for VMware View Team
Arun P Kumar, Rinmy Moideen, Kartik Saxena, Susam Pal, Mohan Venkateshaiah, Dhanya Swamy, Somanatha Murthy,
Srinath Gaddam, Sigalit Kaidar, Bikram Barman, Dave Howell, Nirav Mehta.
Contact Information
Go to the RSA corporate web site for regional Customer Support telephone and fax numbers: www.rsa.com
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registered trademark of EMC Corporation. All other goods and/or services mentioned are trademarks of their respective
companies.
License agreement
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used and copied only in accordance with the terms of such license and with the inclusion of the copyright notice below. This
software and the documentation, and any copies thereof, may not be provided or otherwise made available to any other person.
No title to or ownership of the software or documentation or any intellectual property rights thereto is hereby transferred. Any
unauthorized use or reproduction of this software and the documentation may be subject to civil and/or criminal liability.
This software is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a commitment by RSA.
Third-party licenses
This product may include software developed by parties other than RSA.
Note on encryption technologies
This documentation is about products or solutions that may contain encryption technology. Many countries prohibit or restrict
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using, importing or exporting this product.
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Limit distribution of this document to trusted personnel.

RSA SecurBook for VMware View December 2009
Contents
About This Guide _____________________________________________________________ 4
References _______________________________________________________________________ 5
Solution Objectives____________________________________________________________ 6
VMware View Basics ______________________________________________________________ 6
Business Scenarios ________________________________________________________________ 8
High-Level Security Objectives _____________________________________________________ 12
Functional Requirements __________________________________________________________ 12
Solution Deployment _________________________________________________________ 19
Enterprise Deployment____________________________________________________________ 19
Supported Product Versions _______________________________________________________ 20
Deployment Instructions __________________________________________________________ 21
Solution Administration_______________________________________________________ 26
Introducing Macers Corporation ___________________________________________________ 26
Administering the RSA Solution for VMware View ____________________________________ 33
Troubleshooting ____________________________________________________________ 110
Common Issues and Resolution____________________________________________________ 110
3

About This Guide
This document provides guidance for planning, deploying, and administering the RSA Solution for
VMware View. It is intended for the security or IT operations department of an organization that is
responsible for securing virtual desktops and has acquired one or more components of the RSA Solution
for VMware View.
The guide is divided into the following sections:
Solution Objectives - Introduces the VMware View components essential to understanding the scope and
functionality of the solution. It also describes the solution objectives based on common security-related
requirements of organizations that deploy a hosted virtual desktop infrastructure. These objectives are
based on direct market research that RSA has conducted to understand such requirements.
Solution Architecture - Introduces the main components that make up the solution and the role of each
component.
Solution Deployment - Focuses on the configuration and planning necessary to ensure that solution
components integrate with each other (where applicable) and with the VMware View infrastructure. It
provides instructions (with screenshots where applicable) to ease and accelerate the deployment of the
solution. This SecurBook does not repeat instructions from other product documentation.
Solution Administration - Using the example of a fictitious company provides step-by-step instructions
for the administration and operation of the RSA Solution to deliver the visibility and control that an
organization would need. Screenshots are provided where appropriate.
Troubleshooting - Describes the known issues and workarounds.
4

References
VMware View Installation and
Configuration
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/view_pubs.html
RSA DLP Product Documentation https://knowledge.rsasecurity.com/docs/rsa_edp/dlp_702/Endpoint
_7.0.2_Deployment.pdf
RSA Authentication Manager
Product Documentation
https://knowledge.rsasecurity.com/docs/rsa_securid/rsa_auth_mgr/
71/auth_manager_installation_guide.pdf
RSA enVision Configuration Guide https://knowledge.rsasecurity.com/docs/rsa_env/envision/400/RS
A%20enVision%204.0%20Configuration%20Guide.pdf
EMC Ionix Server Configuration
Manager Documentation
http://www.configuresoft.com/signon.aspx?returl=downloads.asp
x
5

Solution Objectives
In this guide, the term ‘View’ refers to those components associated with the VMware View platform.
Hosted virtual desktops can simplify and streamline the process of managing thousands of workstations as
well as centralize data management and protection. Such benefits are seen by organizations both large and
small. Organizations that adopt hosted virtual desktops still need to ensure that they protect desktops from
a variety of endpoint security threats and further, gain better central visibility and control than is possible
with traditional desktops.
This section includes the:
 VMware View terminology and components. These are essential to understanding the scope and
functionality of the solution.
 Typical business scenarios that drive the need for security in hosted virtual desktop deployments.
 Security activities that information security departments may undertake to ensure that the use of
VMware View is in compliance with internal and external security policies.
VMware View Basics
VMware View consists of a set of components that allows administrators to create virtual desktops
through VMware vCenter that run on VMware ESX/vSphere. VMware View then allows the
administrator to deploy the desktops and assign them to users. This section describes VMware View
terminology and the major components that make up the virtual desktop infrastructure.
VMware vCenter
VMware vCenter is the central management console for the VMware virtualization infrastructure that, in
a scalable manner, allows administrators to control, configure, and report on virtual machines and hosts
that constitute the virtual infrastructure. View Manager connects to vCenter to enable the administrator to
create virtual desktops that can run on the backend ESX/vSphere server.
VMware ESX/vSphere
VMware ESX/vSphere comprises the hypervisor (virtual machine monitor) and associated software that
forms the foundation of the virtual infrastructure. VMware ESX/vSphere can be deployed on a single
physical server and hosts multiple virtual machines that share the hardware resources of that server.
6

VMware ESX/vSphere Service Console
The VMware ESX/vSphere Service Console is one of the management interfaces used by administrators
to configure the ESX/vSphere server directly.
Virtual Desktop
A virtual desktop is a complete workstation encapsulated as a virtual machine that can be centrally
hosted, deployed, and provisioned to end-users as a replacement for their traditional physical workstation
environment.
Virtual Desktop Pool
A virtual desktop pool is a collection of virtual desktops. Virtual desktops can be members of either
persistent or non-persistent pools.
Persistent virtual desktop pools contain virtual desktops that are assigned to users upon first use. The user
can customize these desktops, power them off, and return them to a known state at a later time.
Non-persistent virtual desktop pools contain virtual desktops that are not assigned to individual users.
When a user closes a session, the virtual desktop is returned to the pool and can be used by another user.
The old virtual desktop is essentially deleted and a clean machine is made available for the new user.
View Manager
View Manager is a hosted virtual desktop solution that consists of the following components:
 View Connection Server
 View Agent
 View Client
 View Portal
 View Administrator
 View Composer
View Connection Server
The View Connection Server is as a connection broker that allows users to access virtual desktops.
7

View Agent
The View Agent is a software service that is installed on all guest virtual machines, physical systems, or
terminal servers in order to allow them to be managed by View Manager.
View Client
The View Client is a locally installed software component that communicates with View Connection
Server in order to allow users to connect to their desktops
View Portal
The View Portal is a browser-accessible interface to one or more virtual desktops through the View
Connection Server. Any software that is needed to display the virtual desktop is automatically installed by
the browser.
View Administrator
The View Administrator is a browser-accessible portal that allows an administrator to create and manage
configuration settings as well as manage virtual desktops and entitlements.
View Composer
The View Composer is used by View to create and deploy linked clone desktop images. The clones are
created from a parent virtual machine on vCenter. Administrators can use View Composer to quickly
generate a set of virtual desktops and then assign them to users.
Business Scenarios
These business scenarios drive the need for security for hosted virtual desktop environments. The
business scenarios discussed in this section are not exhaustive and are only meant to provide useful
context for understanding the requirements for the solution. The scenarios are organized under the
following themes:
Visibility: These scenarios involve activities that use the discovery, monitoring, and reporting capabilities
of the solution. These activities address questions such as:
 Where does sensitive information exist on virtual desktops and how is it being used?
 Who is accessing the virtual desktop environment?
 Are virtual desktops configured securely in accordance to policy?
8

Control: These scenarios involve activities that enforce policy or modify the current state of security to
bring it in line with the intended policy. These scenarios use the solution to address questions such as:
 How can access to virtual desktops be protected and managed?
 How can sensitive information on virtual desktops be protected in alignment with organizational data
security policy?
 How can virtual desktop configuration be brought in line if it drifts from security policy?
 How can the operating system and other software on virtual desktops be patched and updated
efficiently?
The following figure illustrates the business scenarios and how they map to the high-level security
objectives and functional requirements that are described later in this section. The main entity responsible
for supporting the following scenarios and requirements is typically the information security department
of an organization that has virtualized a portion of its desktop base.
9

Business Scenarios (Control)
‐ Gaining Central Control of Virtual
Desktops
‐ Remediation and Risk Mitigation Activity
Business Scenarios
Business Scenarios (Visibility)
‐ Monitoring
High‐Level Objectives
Functional Requirements
(Visibility)
‐ Discovering Configuration of Virtual
Desktops
‐ Monitoring User and Administrator
Activity within Virtual Desktop
Infrastructure
(Control)
‐ Enforcing Strong Authentication for
Remote Access to Virtual Desktops
‐ Enforcing Strong Authentication to
ESX/vSphere Service Console
‐ Enforcing Data Security Policy on Virtual
Desktops
‐ Patch/Update and Security
Configuration Management
‐ Policy Awareness Training
‐ Information Gathering for Risk Assessment
and Audits
Figure 1: Business Scenarios Mapped to Functional Requirements
10

Business Scenarios for Visibility
Information Gathering for Risk Assessment and Audits
Organizations often have internal and/or external (for example, regulatory) audit requirements that
mandate application of specific security configurations for desktops and monitoring of user access to
sensitive resources. Further, in a virtual desktop environment, as with any other information system,
auditors seek assurance that sensitive information can only be accessed by the right persons over secure
infrastructure. In order to satisfy audit requirements, a security administrator must be able to do all of the
following:
 Identify sensitive information on virtual desktops and monitor use of the sensitive data on the virtual
desktop
 Verify whether configuration of these virtual desktops complies with a secure expected configuration
 Monitor and report on access to these desktops
Policy Awareness Training
Training and awareness is an important aspect of organizational security. There is often a requirement to
train employees on how to store and handle sensitive information. By understanding exactly where
sensitive content exists, who accesses this sensitive information, and what they do with it (for example,
copying data to USB drives, printing documents, and deleting documents), the organization can better
track the effectiveness of its training activities. Collecting and reporting on the existence and current use
of sensitive data is an important step in determining how employees should be trained on properly
handling information.
Business Scenarios for Control
Gaining Central Control of Virtual Desktops
Administrators can centrally manage desktops using VMware View. This offers unprecedented control
over the security of the endpoint. From a security standpoint, organizations desire a means to centrally
control the security of data, access, and configuration on virtual desktops.
This centralized control facilitates better security operations in general. For example, configuration
management is predominantly a function of IT departments. However, because unpatched systems can
pose a risk, the security administrator must have visibility into which patches and updates are applied.
Similarly, because misconfigured software services and agents can also pose a risk, a security
administrator may collaborate with an IT administrator to centrally define and enforce configuration
policy. The use of virtual desktops facilitates a more efficient process for pushing security agents to the
endpoint and to ensure that those agents are active.
11

Remediation and Risk Mitigation Activity
When compliance gaps are discovered or security threats are uncovered, security administrators are
tasked with remediation of security defects. Establishing user identity is critical to enforcing security
controls. Furthermore, restricting what users can do with sensitive content is also an effective way of
ensuring that valuable information remains within the corporate infrastructure and satisfies compliance
mandates. Finally, organizations need a means to automate the verification, reporting, and enforcement of
virtual desktop security to accurately assess compliance to configuration standards. The ability to
automatically update and patch outdated system software can streamline an organization’s ability to
comply with standards and mitigate identified risks.
High-Level Security Objectives
The business scenarios described in the previous section result in the following security objectives for a
hosted virtual desktop environment:
 Determine whether and where sensitive content exists on virtual desktops
 Enforce restrictions on the actions a user or role can perform on sensitive content that resides on a
virtual desktop
 Ensure only authorized users connect to virtual desktops
 Establish a standard virtual desktop configuration and centrally enforce compliance to this standard
 Ensure that latest security updates and patches are applied
 Capture and report on user activity within the virtual desktop environment
The business scenarios and high-level security objectives typically result in the following detailed
functional requirements. The RSA Solution for VMware View is primarily targeted to meet these
requirements.
12

Functional Requirements for Visibility
Discover Sensitive Data on Virtual Desktops
To understand what the risk profile of a virtual desktop environment is, it is important to identify which
virtual desktops contain sensitive data as well as the type of data. This understanding will help determine
what type of remediation actions should be taken. For example, an employee training program on how to
handle sensitive data might be implemented, if this type of information is found to exist on a large
number of virtual desktops in the form of Excel files instead of in centralized, protected databases.
Discover Configuration of Virtual Desktops
It is difficult to determine whether the software on virtual desktops is configured securely. Accurate
reporting of virtual desktop configurations can help security administrators understand whether the
desktops are compliant with the standard corporate security configurations as well as compliance
mandates. In addition, it must be possible to determine which virtual desktops have software that is not
patched or has not been updated. Lastly, it is important to be able to determine whether critical software
services and security agents are installed and running on virtual desktops.
Report on User and Administrator-Related Security Events
It is important to have clear visibility into the actions related to administration of virtual desktops.
Security administrators can use this information to detect and preempt harmful administrative activity or
to facilitate forensic investigations when security-related incidents occur. For example, the security
administrator may want to monitor the use of virtual desktops at a frequency and time that represents
anomalous behavior. Such behavior can then be correlated with data loss events.
Functional Requirements for Control
Strong Authentication to Virtual Desktops for Remote Access
Users on the local corporate network can access virtual desktops using a simple password. However, there
is a need to ensure that remote access to the virtual desktop environment is controlled and secure. Many
organizations have a strict policy of enforcing strong multifactor authentication for any remote access.
Thus, there is a need for two-factor authentication to virtual desktops.
Strong Authentication to ESX/vSphere Service Console
Secure access to high risk administrative interfaces is critical to prevent high-impact privileged-user
abuse. Administrators use the ESX/vSphere Service Console to manage individual ESX/vSphere
instances directly. This interface must be protected using strong, two-factor authentication.
13

Patch/Update Management and Security Configuration Management
Software configuration can pose a security threat if it does not conform to corporate standards defined by
an organization’s security policy or compliance mandates. If users can customize a large number of
virtual desktops, it is difficult for security administrators to ensure that all software on virtual desktops is
configured according to the corporate security standard. It is also difficult to update and patch all software
on the virtual desktops in a timely manner to ensure that vulnerabilities do not expose the corporation to
security risks. There is a need to ensure that configuration, patch, and update management policy can be
centrally managed and enforced across all virtual desktops.
Enforcement of Data Security Policy on Virtual Desktops
Organizations need to centrally control what users can do with sensitive information on virtual desktops
in order to safeguard the data. For example, users in some groups can be prevented from printing sensitive
content and all users can be prevented from copying sensitive content to external drives. Central control
over enforcement of such data policy is necessary to ensure that all users of virtual desktops consistently
adhere to the corporate policy.
14

Figure 2: RSA Solution for VMware View and Partner Components Mapping
The RSA Solution for VMware View includes:
 A means to address aspects of virtual desktop security pertaining to information, identities, and
infrastructure.
 Central visualization and control of security for the VMware View infrastructure.
 Enterprise-grade RSA and other EMC products that can be extended to secure other applications in an
organization.
 A modular architecture that enables an organization to deploy one or more product components.
Every component delivers value on its own, but the combination of products delivers a solution
greater than the sum of its parts.
15

Architectural Goals and Components
This section describes the architectural goals met by various products in the solution.
Discovery
RSA Data Loss Prevention Suite
The products in the RSA Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Suite accurately identify and locate sensitive
information within large enterprise networks, whether it is stored on computers or file shares, is being
transmitted to external networks, or is being copied, saved, printed, or otherwise used inappropriately.
Using centralized policy administration and a distributed and highly scalable detection technology, the
DLP products identify regulated or confidential data in the largest of networks and, if necessary, take
immediate action on it.
EMC Ionix Server Configuration Manager
EMC Ionix Server Configuration Manager is a configuration management suite that allows both security
and IT administrators to report on, manage, and enforce configuration policy on virtual desktops. It can
determine whether virtual desktops are configured according to corporate security or hardening standards.
It can also determine whether virtual desktops are running software that has not been patched or updated,
and can then schedule the patch application or updates. Finally, EMC Ionix Server Configuration
Manager can identify virtual desktops that do not have security agents and critical services installed and
activated. These capabilities can provide administrators a means to report on the current security posture
of the virtual infrastructure.
Remediation and Policy Enforcement
The following options are available for remediation of security non-compliance:
RSA Data Loss Prevention Suite
RSA Data Loss Prevention Endpoint can be configured to automatically prevent users from performing
restricted operations on sensitive files. The following enforcement options are available:
 Restrict copying sensitive files to network shares
 Restrict copying sensitive files to external media
 Restrict printing of sensitive files
16

RSA Authentication Manager
RSA Authentication Manager is required to implement RSA SecurID authentication. It processes
authentication requests in a scalable manner and provides central administration of enterprise
authentication policies. The VMware View platform natively supports SecurID authentication for access
to virtual desktops.
EMC Ionix Server Configuration Manager
After EMC Ionix Server Configuration Manager has determined the current configuration of virtual
desktops, it can enforce policy by changing the configuration. For example, if it detects that some virtual
desktops are not running security software agents or services, it can trigger these agents and services to
run. Similarly, it can automatically update software and apply patches to the virtual desktops. These
capabilities, which ensure that virtual desktops are in compliance with corporate configuration standards,
are essential to an organization’s remediation processes.
Reporting and Analysis
RSA enVision
RSA enVision collects logs from various event source types and enables administrators to obtain reports
on security-relevant events. RSA enVision monitors events related to the discovery of sensitive
information and the prevention of restricted user operations on sensitive content, from RSA DLP.
RSA enVision can monitor and report on events within the virtual desktop infrastructure associated with
authentication and access to desktops as well as general administration of the virtual desktops. This
infrastructure-wide visibility helps administrators prioritize overall security programs.
RSA enVision can monitor the backend VMware infrastructure as well as the View components and
correlate events from those systems with events from RSA Authentication Manager and RSA DLP to
provide an integrated and correlated view of the entire virtual desktop environment, which could aid in
auditing and forensic analysis of security incidents.
17

Functional Summary
The following table describes the products used to implement the RSA Solution for VMware View and
their function in the solution.
Product Function
RSA Data Loss
Prevention Endpoint
Discovery of sensitive information and enforcement of data security on the
virtual desktop.
RSA Authentication
Manager and SecurID
RSA SecurID two-factor authentication for access to virtual desktops,
administration portals, and ESX/vSphere Service Console.
RSA enVision Reporting on user and administrator activity within a VMware View
environment. Reporting on where sensitive information is found, whether
sensitive information is leaving the virtual desktop in violation of security
policy, and authentication events within the infrastructure
EMC Ionix Server
Configuration Manager
Configuration management and patch management for virtual desktops.
Table 1: Products and Functional Mapping
18

Solution Deployment
Enterprise Deployment
The following figure depicts the recommended deployment for an enterprise.
Figure 3: RSA Solution for VMware View Deployment Diagram
The deployment of various components of the solution may vary based on the enterprise need. The model
presented here suggests that all security applications are managed by security administrators. EMC Ionix
Server Configuration Manager may be managed by both security and IT administrators. Some
organizations may have a hierarchy of security administrators. For example, enterprise policies for data
loss prevention and compliance monitoring may be defined by a different tier of administrators than those
that manage protection mechanisms such as authentication control and configuration management.
19

Supported Product Versions
The following table shows the products that are involved in the RSA Solution for VMware View along
with the version numbers.
Component Name Release Version Remarks
RSA Data Loss Prevention Endpoint 7.2
RSA Authentication Manager/SecurID 7.1
EMC Ionix Server Configuration
Manager
5.1.3.9
RSA enVision 4.0
VMware View 3.1.1 and 4.0
VMware Virtual Center/vCenter 2.5 and 4.0
VMware ESX/vSphere 3.5 and 4.0
Microsoft Windows Windows Server 2003
Recommended operating system
for the entire stack is Windows
Server 2003
Table 2: Product Versions
20

Deployment Instructions
The following deployment instructions are based on the sample environment assumed for the Macers
Corporation fictional case study described in the “Solution Objectives” section.
For installation of VMWare View please refer to related VMware documentation.
Server Purpose
VMVIEW.MACERS.ORG VMware View access portal and
management console for creating and
managing virtual desktops
VCENTER.MACERS.ORG VMware vCenter management console for
creating and managing virtual machines on
ESX/vSphere
DOMAIN-CONTROL.MACERS.ORG Microsoft Active Directory 2003
Table 3: VMware View Deployment
21

Deploying RSA Data Loss Prevention
The RSA Data Loss Prevention suite of products provides a comprehensive solution for discovering
sensitive data and preventing loss of that data via endpoint, network or servers. In this solution, the
RSA DLP Endpoint product is included for protection of data-in-use on a virtual desktop.
Follow the installation instructions in the RSA DLP product documentation to install RSA DLP Endpoint.
RSA DLP is deployed on one system as described in the following table.
Machine Purpose
DLP.MACERS.ORG RSA Data Loss Prevention Endpoint :
Enterprise Manager for data scanning and
loss prevention
Table 4: RSA DLP Deployment
Deploying RSA DLP Endpoint Agent
RSA DLP Endpoint Agent must be installed on all Virtual desktop sources that are managed by VMWare
View Connection Server.
The RSA DLP Endpoint agent can be installed on all desktops by cloning virtual desktop images based
on a standard virtual machine template on which the RSA DLP Endpoint agent and other required
software is already installed.
1. Creating a template machine: Create a template machine with the VMware View agent and
RSA DLP Endpoint agent installed. The RSA DLP Endpoint agent must be installed using the
password from the RSA DLP Enterprise Manager server (see the section “Enforcing Data Security
Policy Using Virtual Desktops”).
2. Cloning from the template: Upon installing the VMware View agent, the template machine can be
cloned to create multiple virtual machines. The cloned virtual machines can then be converted to
Virtual desktops and will be automatically protected by RSA DLP Endpoint.
Deploying RSA Authentication Manager
RSA Authentication Manager enables strong, two-factor authentication for access to virtual desktops
using SecurID tokens.
Follow the installation instructions in the RSA Authentication Manager product documentation for your
platform.
22

After successful installation, RSA Authentication Manager 7.1 is deployed on one system as described in
the following table.
Machine Purpose
AM.MACERS.ORG RSA Authentication Manager 7.1
for 2-factor authentication
Table 5: RSA Authentication Manager Deployment
Deploying RSA enVision
RSA enVision is a feature-rich security information event management application. It automatically
collects and analyzes log information from network, security, application, operating system, and storage
environments. RSA enVision can also retrieve event and log information from the virtual infrastructure.
Follow the installation instructions in the RSA enVision configuration guide.
Upon installation, RSA enVision 4.0 is deployed on one system, as described in the following table.
Machine Purpose
ENV.MACERS.ORG RSA enVision 4.0 for monitoring
and reporting on security-relevant
events
Table 6: Solutions enVision System Details
Configuring RSA DLP to log events to RSA enVision
1. Log on to RSA DLP Enterprise Manager. Click the “Admin” tab on the top bar. Next click the “SIEM
Configuration” under the Settings tab, which is just below the top bar.
2. Enter the IP address of the RSA enVision appliance in the SIEM configuration and save the settings.
3. Ensure that all of the RSA enVision services are started in the enVision system. Log on to
RSA enVision and check the Event Viewer for messages from the newly recognized RSA DLP event
source.
23

Configuring VMware View Manager to log events to RSA enVision
1. Download the Secure FTP agent from RSA SecureCare Online and refer to the NIC SFTP agent
installation guide for installation instructions.
2. Update the sftpagent.conf file to change the IP address of the enVision machine and the IP address of
the VMware View event source.
agent.logginghost=<enVision IP address>
dir0.ftp=<enVision IP address>,nic_sshd,public.txt,VMWARE_VIEW_<event source IP address>
3. Install the Event Source Update from RSA enVision at the following link:
https://knowledge.rsasecurity.com/scolcms/set.aspx?id=8268
4. Add an event source to be read using this file reader service. See the following screenshot.
a) Log on to RSA enVision.
b) Navigate to System Configuration  Services  Device Services  Manage File Reader
Service.
c) Click Add to add the file reader service.
d) Enter the IP address of the machine from which logs are retrieved, which in this case is the
ftp_files folder.
e) Select the file reader type VMware_view.
f) Click Apply.
Figure 4: File Reader Service Configuration for VMware View
24

5. Restart the NIC Service Manager Service on RSA enVision.
6. Restart the NIC SFTP Agent at the VMware View machine.
7. Delete the C:NICsftpagentpos directory on the VMware View machine to resend all logs to
RSA enVision.
Configuring VMware vCenter and ESX/vSphere to log events to RSA enVision
1. Follow the installation instructions in the RSA enVision VMware Collector Service configuration
guide.
2. Follow the instructions in the configuration guide to configure VMware Virtual Center/vCenter with
RSA enVision.
3. Follow the instructions in the configuration guide to configure VMware ESX/vSphere with
RSA enVision.
Deploying EMC Ionix Server Configuration Manager
EMC Ionix Server Configuration Manager is a centralized configuration management console. It applies
software patches and updates, helps maintain software configuration compliance, and provides software
configuration compliance reporting services.
Follow the installation instructions in the EMC Ionix Server Configuration Manager configuration guide.
Upon installation, EMC Ionix Server Configuration Manager is deployed on one system, as described in
the following table.
Machine Purpose
IONIXSCM.MACERS.ORG EMC Ionix Server Configuration
Manager for managing
configuration and patch of virtual
desktops
Table 7: EMC Ionix Server Configuration Manager Deployment
25

Solution Administration
Having deployed one or more of the component products, an administrator can use the RSA Solution for
VMware View to support the set of business scenarios and fulfill the related functional requirements
described in the “Solution Objectives” section (summarized in Figure 1).
Introducing Macers Corporation
To illustrate the operation of the solution clearly, the product-related workflows are described within the
context of a fictional company, Macers Corporation. The example of Macers Corporation is intended to
be generic and the scenarios described in this section should resonate with many organizations.
Macers Corporation Security Requirements
At Macers Corporation, the use of VMware View virtual desktop infrastructure originated from a
corporate initiative to take further advantage of their prior investment in server virtualization
infrastructure. This effort was also initiated to allow employee-owned laptops to be used and to streamline
overall management of desktops. As a result, Macers Corporation expects to reduce overall lead time,
management, and operational costs associated with deployment of desktops for new employees and
contractors.
The Chief Information Security Officer understands the inherent security benefits of using virtual desktop
infrastructure, such as the ability to:
 Quickly reinstate a known good image when desktops are badly infected
 Recycle desktop images on a daily or weekly basis for task workers or for training labs
 Segregate desktop applications that are used to access sensitive data on separate desktop images and
provision user access to them depending on their organizational role
26

While reaping these advantages, the CISO and the security department are aware that desktop security is
one of their biggest challenges and want to ensure that the transition to virtual desktops does not result in
dilution of security. In particular, the CISO wants to ensure that the following key areas of the virtual
desktop infrastructure security addressed:
 Securing local and remote access to virtual desktops
 Protecting sensitive content in use on the virtual desktops
 Patching and updating software on virtual desktops, and auditing the software configuration of these
virtual desktops
 Reporting user activity within the virtual desktop environment
These scenarios are described in detail as follows:
Secure Authentication
Macers Corporation employees connect to the corporate environment using their laptops on the local
corporate network, and log on using a password. A large number of employees often work from home or
remote locations when they travel and need remote access to their virtual desktops. Mobility of the
employees increases the likelihood of unauthorized individuals gaining access to the corporate
environment. It becomes important to implement a multifactor solution to restrict remote access to the
VMware View Portal to only Macers employees (especially in the event that a laptop is lost or stolen).
Data Leakage
Employees must comply with security policy related to the protection of confidential data. Employees in
the finance department as well as finance contractors often work with documents that contain this type of
sensitive content, such as draft financial reports. While there is a need for this data to be shared amongst
employees in the finance group, it must not be copied to network file shares, USB devices, and CD-
R/DVD-R media when using a virtual desktop. Further, employees are not allowed to print financial
information. Premature leakage of this information must be prevented because it can have drastic
consequences from a regulatory standpoint. A solution is required to ensure that this does not occur, while
maintaining flexibility to share information and facilitate collaboration.
Software Updates and Patches
Desktops within the infrastructure are vulnerable to security threats if they are running unpatched
software and recent software updates have not been installed. A technological solution must be
implemented to effectively manage these software updates and patches centrally.
27

Desktop and Software Configuration Drift
Employees are often given administrative privileges to their workstations. This flexibility allows them to
independently install software that can help them improve their productivity. At the same time, this level
of access enables users to inadvertently or intentionally disable security agents/services on the desktop or
install applications that modify the registry or system settings in a way that render them vulnerable to
security attacks . The resulting lack of protection from these security services leaves the workstation and
potentially other corporate resources vulnerable. It is important to implement a solution to manage such
software configuration drift as it can impact the security of desktops and the systems those desktops
access.
Security Incident and Event Reporting
Though hosted virtual desktops reduce a significant amount of security risk by centrally hosting data and
processes, security administrators need visibility into security-related events occuring in the virtual
desktop infrastructure to detect anomalous or malicious behavior. Additionally, to meet compliance and
audit requirements, the security administrators are required to maintain logs and reports of important
events and incidents that occur within the virtual desktop environment. In particular, they must be aware
of user-related events that occur on virtual desktops related to:
 Actions performed on sensitive content
 Access to administrative consoles
 User access to virtual desktops and modification of virtual desktop profile settings
The Solution for Macers Corporation
The information security and compliance department of Macers Corporation, under direction from the
Chief Security Officer and Chief Information Officer, has carefully assessed the requirements and has
chosen the RSA Solution for VMware View to mitigate the risks outlined above. The RSA Solution for
VMware View will enable the following security enhancements to the security of the virtual desktop
infrastructure:
 Any employee connecting remotely to the corporate environment must log on to the VMware View
Portal using two-factor SecurID authentication to ensure that only authorized employees are allowed
to access the VMware View Portal.
 If a local administrator (say Alex Clark, username: aclark) needs to configure the back-end
ESX/vSphere virtualization infrastructure using the standard ESX/vSphere Service Console, he must
authenticate using two-factor authentication.
 If confidential financial data, such as draft financial reports, exists on a user’s desktop, such as one
that is associated with an employee (for example, Nancy Hopkins, username: nhopkins) in the finance
28

department, and the user attempts to move or copy this information (for example, Q1Draft.doc) to a
network share, or to external media such as a USB device, or a CD-R/DVD-R, the operation must be
restricted and raise an alert.
 Users are not allowed to print financial documents (for example, Q1Draft.doc). Any attempt to print a
financially sensitive document must be restricted and raise an alert.
 Macers Corporation employees who use virtual desktops must be restricted from copying/cutting and
pasting sensitive text contained in draft financial statements to their local desktops. Such an action
must raise an alert.
 To mitigate the risk of security threats that arise through unpatched desktops, IT and security
administrators must ensure that the software on all of these systems is verified, updated, and patched
on a timely basis.
 Any deviations from established standard software and security configurations may constitute a
significant security risk. To mitigate this risk, software and security configurations on the desktops
must be verified, and if any drift is discovered, it must be appropriately managed. Specifically, the
following assessments are considered high priority:
 Verify that required software agents, such as data loss prevention agents, anti-virus agents,
malware detection agents, firewalls, network access control agents, and encryption agents are
installed, properly configured, and are running on the endpoint. The security administrator must
be able to determine whether these agents are not installed, are not configured according to the
corporate standard, or are not running, and he must able to generate a report indicating the
configuration gaps.
 Verify that the proper software services are installed, appropriately configured, and running on
the endpoint. These services’ start type must be configured to run as automatic. If these services
are not installed or are not running, an alert must be raised and the deviation must be reported, so
that the appropriate actions can be taken to install and run them. The complete set of services is
summarized in Table 9.
 All virtual desktops must be provisioned such that they belong to the Macers.org Windows
domain. Any deviation must be reported so that the appropriate actions can be taken to register
the virtual desktop on the correct domain.
 To provide security administrators visibility into the most recent relevant security events in the virtual
desktop infrastructure, the following events must be monitored and reported.
 Events related to operations on sensitive data on the virtual desktop
 Events associated with privileged user and administrative actions, such as:
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 User Login Events: Successful authentication and logon to VMware View by either an end
user or an administrator
 Failed Authentication Attempts: Failed attempts to authenticate to VMware View
 Desktop Connection Events: User invocation of their virtual desktop image
 Desktop Management Events: Creation, deletion, configuration modification, and
deployment of virtual desktops
 Desktop Entitlement Changes: Creation, deletion, or modification of entitlements to virtual
desktops
 Strong Authentication Setup: Administrative configuration that activates strong
authentication for access to virtual desktop infrastructure
 Deletion of Virtual Image Templates: Deletion of master virtual images
30

To demonstrate the above capabilities with examples, several fictional users are identified as key actors in
Macers Corp. The following table lists those users and their organizational roles.
Personnel Department Sensitive Content on
Workstation
User: Alex Clark
AD Username: aclark
AD Group: Administrator
Domain: macers.org
IT Administration
User: Nancy Hopkins
AD Username: nhopkins
AD Group: Finance
Workstation Name: USNHopVM
Domain: macers.org
Finance Files:
 Q1Draft.doc
 BulkEnrollment.xls
User: Mark Taylor
AD Username: mtaylor
AD Group: FinanceContractors
Workstation Name: USMTayVM
Domain: macers.org
Finance Files:
 Q1Draft.doc
Table 8: Macers Corporation Environment: Active Directory Setup
31

The Windows Services in the following table must be installed and configured on all corporate desktops.
Service Name Start Type
CcmExec(SMS) Automatic
RemoteRegistry Automatic
MSIServer Manual
ProtectedStorage Automatic
Lanmanserver Automatic
Winmgmt Automatic
Neglon Automatic
DHCP Automatic
Eventlog Automatic
Lanmanworkstation Automatic
Wuauserv Automatic
W32Time Automatic
BITS Manual
DLP Agent Automatic
Anti-virus (TBD) Automatic
Firewall (TBD) Automatic
Table 9: Macers Corporation Environment: Windows Services Configuration
32

Administering the RSA Solution for VMware View
This section describes how a central security administrator within the Macers Corporation administers the
RSA Solution for VMware View to achieve the functional requirements described in the “Solution
Objectives“ section and the specific scenarios described earlier in this section. A step-by-step workflow is
described along with screenshots to demonstrate how each objective is achieved.
Discovering Configuration of Virtual Desktops
Assess Virtual Desktops for Latest Software Updates and Patches
Products Required: EMC Ionix Server Configuration Manager
1. Discovering Machines: EMC Ionix Server Configuration Manager (SCM) must first discover the
machines it is to manage. Because all of the machines in an enterprise belong to a domain, machines
can be discovered based on the Domain Controller.
a. Add a new Discovery Rule in SCM web console, under Administrator  Machines Manager
 Discovery Rules.
Figure 6: Select Discovery Rule in SCM Console
33

b. Provide a name for the rule.
Figure 7: Discovery Rule Naming
34

c. Select discovery by Domain Controller name.
Figure 8: Discovery Method Selection
35

d. Provide the Domain Controller name.
Figure 9: Select Domain Controller
36

e. Select the option to discover all machines in the domain, or a set of machines based on specific
criteria.
Figure 10: Discovery Filter Setting
37

f. If you select Install Agent on Discovered Machines, the SCM Agent will be installed on all of
the machines that belong to the MACERS domain.
Figure 11: Discovery rule Completion
38

g. To discover the machines, select and run the new discovery rule as shown in the following figure.
Figure 12: Run Discovery Rule Selection
h. To view the machines discovered, navigate to Available Machines under Machines Manager.
39

Figure 13: Find Discovered Machines
40

i. To license a selected machine, right-click and select License.
Figure 14: License Selected Machine to be Part of SCM
41

j. Select all of the machines that are to be licensed. To install the agent as well, select the option to
install the agent on the licensed machines.
Figure 15: Select the Machines to be Licensed
k. After licensing is completed, the machine will appear under Licensed Machines under Machines
Manager.
42

2. Collecting Data from the Discovered Machines: Click Collect on top menu bar of the SCM
web console.
Figure 16: Click Collect to Gather Data
a. Select Machine Data.
Figure 17: Select Collection Type
b. Select all of the machines from which data is to be collected.
43

Figure 18: Select Machines
44

c. Select the data types to be collected.
Figure 19: Select Data Types to Collect
d. Click Finish.
45

3. Software Updates and patching the machines: Add a new assessment template under Server
Advisor  Windows  Assessment Templates.
a. Create a new Assessment template.
Figure 20: Assessment Template Creation
46

b. Provide a name for the template.
Figure 21: Name Assessment Template
47

c. Select the bulletins from the list of bulletins that are available in SCM, and click Finish.
Figure 22: Select Bulletins from the Available List
48

d. Select the newly created assessment template, and click Assess.
Figure 23: Select Assess to Run Assessment
49

e. Go to the assessment template to view the report.
Figure 24: View Assessment Results
50

Assess Software Configuration Drift on Virtual Desktops
Products Required: EMC Ionix Software Configuration Manager
1. Add a new template in the SCM web console under Compliance  Machine Group Compliance
Templates.
Figure 25: Create New Template
51

2. Provide a name for the template.
Figure 26: Name the New Template
52

3. Select the desired rule groups. Rule groups contain rules to assure that the services listed in the
Software Services table are running. The standard rule groups, such as Antivirus, ship with SCM.
Figure 27: Select Rule Groups (Standard Services)
53

4. For all non-standard services that do not ship with SCM, you can create new rule group. Go to
Compliance  Machine Group Compliance Rule Group, and click Add.
a. Add a rule group.
Figure 28: Create New Rule Group
54

b. Provide a name for the rule group.
Figure 29: Name the Rule Group
55

c. Go to the rule group and add a rule.
Figure 30: Create and Add New Rule to the Rule Group
56

d. In the data type page, expand Windows, and select Services.
Figure 31: Select the Data Type for the Rule
57

e. Optionally, to check for configuration drift against a standard machine, select a model machine.
Figure 32: Compare the Configuration Against a Model Machine
58

f. Use a conditional statement to define the criteria for the rule.
Figure 33: Select the Type of Rule
59

g. Provide a meaningful conditional statement for checking the machines for compliance.
Figure 34: Select Conditional Statements for the Rule
60

h. Specify the severity level of this rule and its enforceability.
Figure 35: Select the Severity
i. Click Finish to add the rule.
61

5. Select the Services data type to collect information about installed services on the discovered
machines.
Figure 36: Select Data Types
62

6. Select either to view both compliant and non-compliant output, or to view only non-compliant output.
Figure 37: Select Template Options
7. Run the template that was created in step 3.
63

Figure 38: Run the Compliance Template
8. To enforce compliance wherever possible, select Auto-enforce noncompliant results. With this
option, a non-compliant configuration will be enforced automatically.
64

Figure 39: Auto-enforce Noncompliance Results
9. Click Finish to create the template.
10. Run the template to view the compliance report.
65

11. To view the reports, go to the template, and click View Data Grid.
Figure 40: Template Report
66

12. The report will be generated, as shown in the following figure.
Figure 41: View Compliance Report
67

13. To view detailed reports by machine, navigate to Reports  Machine Group Reports 
Compliance, and run the Compliance Result Detail by Machine report.
Figure 42: Run Compliance Result by Machine
68

14. In Marks’s machine, the DLP Endpoint Agent is not running and startup type is not automatic. The
non-compliant configuration is auto-enforced.
Figure 43: Mark’s Compliance Report
69

15. In Nancy’s machine, the configuration attributes are compliant.
Figure 44: Nancy’s Compliance Report
70

Patch/Update and Security Configuration Management
Apply Software Updates and Patches
1. After running the Assessment template mentioned in Figure 23, to install a patch, right-click and
select Deploy.
Figure 45: Select Deploy to Apply the Patch
71

2. Select all patches on all machines, or specific patches on a particular machine, as shown in the
following figure.
Figure 46: Select the Patches to be Deployed.
72

Remediate Software Configuration Drift and Enforce Compliance to Configuration
Standard
1. To enforce the settings on non-compliant machines, right-click on a machine, and select Enforce.
Figure 47: Enforce Settings on Non-Compliant Machines
73

2. Select the option to enforce changes on a selected subset of non-compliant machines on all of the
non-compliant machines.
Figure 48: Enforce Settings on Non-Compliant Machines
3. To auto-enforce compliance wherever possible, while adding a compliance template, select the option
to Auto-enforce noncompliant results, as shown in Figure 39.
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Enforcing Strong Authentication for Remote Access to Virtual Desktops
Products Required: Authentication Manager, VMware View Manager
1. Installing VMware View Connection Server: On the VMware View Connection Server
Installation Options screen, set the installation type to standard connection server.
Figure 49: Connection Server Installation Type Selection
75

2. Log on to the VMware View administrator portal. Edit the server configuration by navigating to the
Servers section on the Configuration tab.
Figure 50: Edit Connection Server Configuration
76

3. Enable RSA SecurID 2-Factor Authentication, and upload the sdconf.rec file.
Figure 51: Enable SecurID for View Portal in Connection Server Configuration
77

4. Log on to the View Portal as View user. The portal will display a prompt for SecurID
authentication.
Figure 52: View Portal with SecurID Login Screen
Enforcing Strong Authentication to ESX/vSphere Service Console
The following procedure applies to both ESX 3.5 and vSphere.
1. Install the RSA SecurID PAM agent in the ESX/vSphere Service Console. For installation
instructions, download to the RSA SecurID Ready Implementation Guide at
http://www.rsa.com/rsasecured/guides/imp_pdfs/VMware%20ESX%20Console%20and%20%20RSA
%20SecurID%20Implementation%20Guide.pdf (ESX 3.5)
http://www.rsa.com/rsasecured/guides/imp_pdfs/VMware%20vSphere%204%20Console%20and%20
%20RSA%20SecurID%20Implementation%20Guide.pdf (vSphere)
Note: Alternatively, go to http://www.rsa.com/rsasecured/ and find these documents by entering
VMware in the search field.
78

2. Once the SecurID PAM agent is enabled for SSHD, the SecurID prompt appears for ESX/vSphere.
Figure 53: Strong Authentication to ESX/vSphere
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Password Authentication for View Users in the Corporate Network
Products Required: Authentication Manager, VMware View Manager
1. Installing a replica instance of Connection Server: On the VMware View Connection Server
Installation Options screen, set the installation type to Replica.
Figure 54: Connection Server Installation Type Selection
80

2. Provide the hostname of the primary connection server. The hostname and the corresponding IP
address are in etc/host file.
Figure 55: Source Server for Replication
81

3. After installing the replica server, the Servers section in the administrator portal will show two
servers, one with SecurID authentication and one with password only authentication.
Figure 56: Standard and Replica Instance in View Manager
82

4. Log on to the View Portal as a View user. The portal will display a prompt for password-only
authentication.
Figure 57: View Portal with Password Only Authentication.
83

Enforcing Data Security Policy on Virtual Desktops
Detecting Sensitive Content and Restricting User Operations on Sensitive Content
Products Required: RSA DLP
1. Create policy and content blades to the policy as per the corporate Security Policy in the DLP
Enterprise Manager.
Adding Content Blades
a. Go to Content Blades Manager under Admin  Content Blades, and select New Described
Content.
Figure 58: Adding Content Blade.
84

b. Save the Content Blade after specifying Blade Name and Rule Set.
Figure 59: Save the Content Blade
85

Adding a Policy
c. Go to Policy Manager under Policies  Policies, and select New Policy.
Figure 60: Add a New Policy
86

d. Enter a Policy Name, and add Content Blades.
Figure 61: Select Content Blades
87

e. Scroll down to and select Endpoint, and add a new rule for the policy. Save the policy after
enabling the endpoint.
Figure 62: Configuring Endpoint Rules
88

2. Add DLP endpoints in DLP Enterprise Manager for all virtual desktops in the domain.
a. To add an Endpoint Group, navigate to DLP Enterprise Manager  Admin  Endpoint, and
click New Endpoint Group.
Figure 63: Add an Endpoint Group
89

b. Specify the IP addresses of virtual desktops that are to be protected using DLP in Computers in
Endpoint Group.
Figure 64: Add Desktop IP addresses in Endpoint Group
90

c. Install the endpoint agent with GPO password on all of the virtual desktops that are created using
view administrator.
Figure 65: GPO Password of Endpoint Group
An alternate method for installing RSA DLP Endpoint agent on all desktops is to create desktops
from a standard template, on which the RSA DLP Endpoint agent and other required software is
already installed.
1. Creating a template machine: Create a template machine with VMware View agent and
RSA DLP Endpoint agent. The RSA DLP Endpoint agent must be installed using the password
from the RSA DLP Enterprise Manager server.
Figure 66: GPO Password of Endpoint Group
On the template machine, run the RSA DLP Endpoint by using the command:
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msiexec /i Agent.msi PORT=9150 PASSWORD=GPO_PASSWORD where
GPO_PASSWORD is highlighted above.
2. Cloning from the template: After installation of the VMware View agent, clone this template
machine to create multiple virtual machines that can be converted to virtual desktops, and are
automatically protected by RSA DLP Endpoint.
3. Add the IP Addresses in Endpoint Group of DLP Enterprise Manager: For RSA DLP
Endpoint to protect the virtual desktops, add the IP addresses of the cloned machines to the
Computers in Endpoint Group.
Figure 67: Add Desktop IP Addresses in Endpoint Group
92

3. Printing of sensitive document is restricted on Nancy’s desktop.
Figure 68: Printing of Sensitive Document is Prevented by DLP
93

4. The Incident for this event can be viewed in DLP Enterprise Manager by navigating to Incidents 
Incidents.
Figure 69: View the Incident in DLP Enterprise Manager
94

5. The Event can be viewed in RSA DLP Enterprise Manager by navigating to the Incidents  Events
screen.
Figure 70: View the Event in RSA DLP Enterprise Manager
95

Preventing Clipboard Copy-Paste Operations from Virtual Desktop to Local Desktop:
At the time of writing this document, RSA DLP cannot block a useer from right clicking on a file
containing sensitive information and adding it to a .rar file. However, there is a workaround for this issue.
To ensure protection of sensitive data, you should disable clipboard copy and paste in Virtual machines.
You do this by disabling clipboard redirection in the Active Directory Group Policy Objects, as described
by the following procedure.
1. Go to the virtual machine, and run gpedit.msc.
2. Navigate to Local Computer Policy Computer Configuration  Admin Templates 
Windows Components  Terminal Services  Client/server data redirection.
3. Double-click Do not allow clipboard redirection, and then click Enable, as shown in the following
figure.
Figure 71: Enable “Do not allow clipboard redirection” Policy
4. Restart the guest operating system on the virtual machine.
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Monitoring User and Administrator Activity within Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
VMware View – User Login Events for View Portal Report
The following steps describe how to create the VMware View – User Login Events for View Portal Event
report using RSA enVIsion. This report provides the administrator intelligence about various user access
events on the VMware View Portal.
1. Log on to the administrative console of RSA enVision and click Reports on the top menu bar. This
populates a drop-down list on the left side, consisting of broad categories of report templates. Click
Hosts, then click Virtualization, and then click VMware View.
2. Inside VMware View, click Create New Report.
3. Provide Name as VMware View – User Login Events for View Portal. Also provide a suitable
Title and Description.
4. Click Next to go to the Select Fields screen. Select the Virtualization table and the following fields:
a) Date/Time
b) UserName
c) Application
d) DeviceHostName
e) DeviceAddress
f) SessionID
g) EventDescription
h) DATEFORMAT(EventTime,’hh:mm:ss’)
5. Click Next to go to the Select Sort Oder screen. Specify the sort order of the various fields.
6. Click Next to go to the Specify Report Selection Criteria screen. Specify the filter as
DeviceAddress in (select paddr from device_list where dtype=147) and EventType IN
(${EventType} )AND Application ='VDM'.
7. Click Next to go to the Customize Column Headings screen. Various column headings can be
modified, as needed.
8. Click Next to go to the Customize Column Order screen. Change the column order as needed to
provide the view that you want.
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9. Click Next to go to the Select Additional Report Options screen, and click Apply.
Figure 72: VMware View Portal User Login Event Report
VMware View – Failed Authentication Attempts at VMware View Portal Report
The following steps describe how to create the VMware View - Failed Authentication Attempts at
VMware View Portal report. This report lists the number of failed authentication attempts on the VMware
View Portal over a period of time.
1. Log on to the administrative console of RSA enVision, and click Reports at the top menu bar. This
populates a drop-down on the left-hand side, consisting of broad categories of the report templates.
Click Hosts, then click Virtualization and then click VMware View.
2. Inside VMware View click Create New Report.
3. Provide Name as VMware View - Failed Authentication Attempts at VMware View Portal. Also
provide a suitable Title, Description.
a. UserName
b. count(UserName)
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DeviceAddress in (select paddr from device_list where dtype=147) and EventType = 'Failed
Logins' AND Application = 'VDM'.
7. Click Next to go to the Customize Column Headings screen. Modify the column headings as
needed.
Figure 73: VMware View Portal Failed Login Attempts Report
VMware View – Administrator Login Events for View Administrator Report
The following steps describe how to create the VMware View – User Login Events for View
Administrator report. This report provides the administrator intelligence about authentication events on
VMware View Administrator.
1. Log on to the administrative console of RSA enVision, and click Reports at the top menu bar. This
populates a drop-down on the left side, consisting of broad categories of the report templates. Click
Hosts, then click Virtualization and then click VMware View.
3. Provide Name as VMware View – User Login Events for View Administrator. Also provide a
suitable Title, Description.
99

a. Date/Time
b. UserName
c. DeviceHostName
d. DeviceAddress
e. EventDescription
f. Application
g. DATEFORMAT(EventTime,’hh:mm:ss’)
DeviceAddress in (select paddr from device_list where dtype=147) and EventType IN
(${EventType} )AND Application ='View Administrator'.
7. Click Next to go to the Customize Column Headings screen. Modify column headings as needed.
100

Figure 74: VMware View Administrator Login Report
VMware View – Failed Authentication Attempts at VMware View Administrator Report
The following steps describe to create the VMware View - Failed Authentication Attempts at VMware
View Administrator report. This report lists the number of failed authentication attempts on the VMware
View Portal over a period of time.
1. Log on to the administrative console of RSA enVision, click Reports at the top menu bar. This
populates a drop-down on the left-hand side, consisting of broad categories of the report templates.
Click Hosts, then click Virtualization and then click VMware View.
3. Provide Name as VMware View - Failed Authentication Attempts at VMware View
Administrator. Also provide a suitable Title, Description.
4. Click Next to go to the next screen named Select Fields. Select the Virtualization table and the
following fields:
a. UserName
b. count(UserName)
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DeviceAddress in (select paddr from device_list where dtype=147) and EventType = 'Failed
Logins' AND Application = 'View Administrator'.
Figure 75: Failed Authentication Attempts to VMware View by Administrator Report
VMware View – Strong Authentication Setup for VMware View Environment Report
The following steps describe how to create the VMware View – Strong Authentication Setup for VMware
View Environment report. This report gives the administrator intelligence about strong authentication in
the VMware View environment for various users.
3. Provide Name as VMware View – Strong Authentication Setup for VMware View Environment.
Also provide a suitable Title, Description.
a. DeviceHostName
b. EventDescription
c. MessageID
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d. DeviceAddress
e. SessionID
f. Date/Time
g. UserName
h. DATEFORMAT(EventTime,’hh:mm:ss’)
6. Click Next to go to the Specify Report Selection Creteria screen. Specify the filter as (MessageID
='received_next'OR MessageID ='received_new'OR MessageID ='Configuration' OR
MessageID ='new_pin').
Figure 76: Strong Authentication Setup for VMware View Environment Report
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VMware View – Desktop Management Events Report
This report lists the various desktop connection events, such as creating, deleting, reconfiguring, and
enabling desktop pools in the VMware View environment over a period of time. To filter the report on the
basis of a particular user, desktop pool, or virtual machine, modify the existing filter to include your
filtering criteria.
Figure 77: VMware View Desktop Management Events Report
Virtual Desktops - Failed Logons on Virtual Desktops Report
Multiple failed logon attempts on a virtual desktop could be indicative of a malicious attempt to logon to
a desktop without authorization. An administrator can use RSA enVision to report whether users have had
multiple failed authentication attempts to virtual desktops, as part of a periodic risk analysis exercise. The
following steps describe how to create the Failed Logons on Virtual Desktops Report report.
Host, then click Windows and then click Logon/Logoff.
2. Inside Logon/Logoff, click Windows - Failed Logons report. Next, click the Copy tab inside Edit
Report option.
3. On the Name the Report screen, name the report Failed Logons on Virtual Desktops and modify
the description as desired.
4. Click Next to go to the Select Fields screen. Select the Windows Accounting table and the following
fields:
a. Date/Time
b. UserName
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c. Workstation
d. Reason
e. LogonType
f. DomainName
6. Click Next to go to the Specify Report Selection Criteria screen. Modify the SQL where clause by
inserting a logical ‘AND’ to the existing selection criteria, as shown below:
AND ((Workstation = 'VIEW’)). This operator ensures that the report template displays events
occurring only on virtual desktops within your environment.
Figure 78: Failed Logons on Virtual Desktops Report
105

Virtual Desktops - Policy Violations Related to Sensitive Data on Virtual Desktops Report
The following steps describe how to create the Policy Violations Related to Sensitive Data on Virtual
Desktops report. This report gives the administrator intelligence about unauthorized actions on sensitive
data that violated organizational policies on specific virtual desktops.
Security, and then click DLP. Inside DLP, click Create New Report.
2. Provide Name as Policy Violations Related to Sensitive Data on Virtual Desktops. Also provide a
suitable Title, Description.
3. Click Next to go to the Select Fields screen. Select the DLP table and the following fields:
a. EventTime
b. MessageID
c. DeviceAddress
d. PolicyName
e. UserName
f. Message
11. Click Next to go to the Specify Report Selection Criteria screen.
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Figure 79: Policy Violations Related to Sensitive Data on Virtual Desktops Report
Report on Operations Performed on Virtual Desktops
VMware View – Desktop Connection Events Report
This report lists the various desktop connection events such as connected, reconnected, disconnected, and
logged off, for desktops in the VMware View environment over a period of time. To filter the report on
the basis of a particular user, desktop pool, or virtual machine, modify the existing filter to include your
filter criteria.
Figure 80: VMware View Desktop Connection Events Report
107

VMware View – Desktop Entitlement Changes Report
The following steps describe how to create the VMware View Desktop Entitlement Changes report. This
report gives the administrator intelligence about entitlement changes that have happened for various
desktop pools in the VMware View environment over a period of time.
3. Provide Name as VMware View Desktop Entitlement Changes. Also provide a suitable Title,
Description.
a. Date/Time
b. DeviceHostName
c. DeviceAddress
d. PoolID
e. ChangeOldValue
f. ChangeNewValue
6. Click Next to go to the Specify Report Selection Creteria screen. Specify the filter as MessageID=
'Entitled:01' OR MessageID = 'Entitled:02' OR MessageID = 'Entitled:03'.
7. Click Next to go to the Customize Column Headings screen. Modify column headings as needed. In
this example, variables ChangeOldValue and ChangeNewValue were modified to OldEntitlements
(Users/Groups) and NewEntitlements (Users/Groups) respectively.
108

Figure 81: VMware View Desktop Entitlement Changes Report
109

110
Troubleshooting
Standard RSA and Ionix product documentation for each product includes troubleshooting information
for that product. Refer to the administration and user guides of the respective products for troubleshooting
individual product issues.
Common Issues and Resolution
1. It is not possible to enable SecurID and password authentication in the same instance. For that reason,
RSA recommends having two instances, one facing remote users and the other for internal users.
These two instances can still be accessed using the same URL, as long as the organization’s DNS
servers points to the appropriate server, based on whether it is local or remote access.
2. RSA DLP cannot block a user from copying and pasting sensitive data from a virtual desktop to the
local physical desktop that is used to access the virtual desktop. However, it is possible to stop
copying and pasting of all data from virtual to physical desktop by configuring a related Active
Directory Group Policy Object appropriately. This workaround is described in the section,
“Preventing Clipboard Copy-Paste Operations from Virtual Desktop to Local Desktop:.”
3. RSA DLP cannot block a user from right clicking on a file containing sensitive information and
adding it to a .rar file. This is a know issue and is under investigation.

RSA SecurBook for VMware View

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RSA SecurBook for VMware View