The intricate architecture of hypervisors, while providing remarkable flexibility and scalability for enterprise-level operations, also represents one of the most critical under-protected attack surfaces existing today. This concurrently introduces significant vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious actors. In this session, Austin Gadient, CTO & Cofounder of Vali Cyber will walk through real-world attack vectors recently leveraged against VMware ESXi and similar virtualization platforms, including remote code execution, Active Directory misconfigurations, and credential-based intrusions. Drawing on lessons from incidents like the MGM Casinos ($175M) and MITRE breaches, Austin will dissect how attackers gain footholds, pivot across virtual environments, and execute hypervisor-level ransomware. The session will conclude with actionable best practices for security leaders looking to harden their virtual infrastructure. This talk is designed for technical audiences concerned with defending critical virtualization layers and aims to bridge the gap between vulnerability awareness and operational resilience.
Speaker: Austin Gadient, CTO & Cofounder, Vali Cyber#