Karios Shield
Zero-Touch Security Provisioning with Integrated OpenSCAP
In today’s fast-paced enterprise landscape, speed without security is a risk no organization can afford.
Karios Shield redefines digital infrastructure by embedding zero-touch security directly into the hypervisor layer. This means seamless deployment of compute resources alongside real-time vulnerability scanning, compliance checks, and automated fixes, without extra agents or tools.
Whether you’re a CISO prioritizing compliance, an IT leader streamlining operations, or a developer building resilient apps, Karios Shield delivers trust at the core of your stack.
Native OpenSCAP: Security Built into the Hypervisor
Karios is the industry’s first digital platform with built-in OpenSCAP integration. OpenSCAP, the U.S. government-backed standard for automating security assessments, vulnerability management, and compliance reporting, now runs natively at the hypervisor level. This proactive approach validates and hardens your infrastructure before workloads even spin up, ensuring a secure foundation for hybrid cloud, edge, or on-premises environments.
For IT departments, this integration means deeper visibility into firmware and hypervisor vulnerabilities that traditional OS-level tools often miss. It supports standardized baselines like STIGs, accelerating scans and remediation while integrating with broader ecosystems.
OpenSCAP-Compliant Hypervisor Scanner: Features at a Glance
Karios Shield’s scanner is the only OpenSCAP-certified tool embedded directly in a hypervisor, going beyond basic patching to deliver comprehensive analysis.
This is how Karios CORE compares to leading alternatives:
| Feature | Description | Benefits for Technologists |
|---|---|---|
| Deep Security Analysis | Performs vulnerability scans, compliance validation, and guided remediation using standardized baselines. | Enables automated workflows with APIs for custom scripting; supports OVAL definitions for precise, machine-readable checks. |
| Hypervisor-Level Focus | Detects firmware and hypervisor vulnerabilities ignored by external tools. | Reduces false positives by scanning at the compute core; integrates with orchestration layers like Kubernetes for pre-launch validation. |
| Ecosystem Compatibility | Works alongside tools and frameworks like Joint Commission, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, STIG, and more. | Speeds hybrid scans by 50%+; extensible via XML schemas for custom content. |
| Agentless Operation | No third-party agents required—scans run inline during provisioning. | Minimizes overhead (e.g., <1% CPU impact); simplifies deployment in air-gapped or regulated environments. |
Included at No Extra Cost
Every Karios Core license comes with full OpenSCAP scanning capabilities, no hidden fees, agents, or setup hassles. From day one, gain instant insights into your security posture, slashing costs and complexity for teams of any size.
Military-Grade Database Support
Karios Shield leverages OVAL (Open Vulnerability and Assessment Language) databases for reliable, XML-based vulnerability and configuration data. Choose from trusted sources to match your compliance needs.
| Database Source | Overview | Key Use Cases |
|---|---|---|
| Karios Proprietary OVAL | Custom-tuned for HCI environments, with frequent updates from the Karios Security team. | Optimized for hypervisor-specific threats; ideal for rapid, tailored assessments. |
| NIST | U.S. standards body providing benchmarks, controls, and guidance. | Aligns with FedRAMP, FISMA, and ISO 27001 for federal and enterprise compliance. |
| NIWC | U.S. Navy's cybersecurity hub for mission-critical networks. | Secures defense-grade systems; supports high-stakes environments like intelligence ops. |
Karios maintains and pushes database updates regularly,
keeping your posture current without manual intervention.
Comprehensive Security Reporting
Stay audit-ready with automated, verifiable reports that scale from daily ops to regulatory reviews.
Posture Reports
Generate on-demand snapshots of current or historical compliance states.
Regulatory Alignment
Tailored for frameworks like PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and ISO 27001 (and many more).
Audit Artifacts
Exportable logs and evidence with no need for separate aggregation tools.
Radical Efficiency Gains
Traditional security workflows drag on for weeks, bogged down by manual scans and patching. Karios Shield compresses this into hours, cutting timelines by up to 85% and boosting TCO through less labor and downtime.
| Traditional Approach | Karios Shield | Efficiency Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Weeks/months for external scans and log collection. | Inline hypervisor scans during zero-touch provisioning. | Reduces exposure windows by 85%; automates 70% of remediation steps. |
| High costs from agents, licenses, and tools. | Native integration, no extras. | Lowers TCO by 40%+ via reduced overhead and faster MTTR. |
| Siloed OS/firmware checks. | Holistic hypervisor-to-workload validation. | Enables continuous monitoring, shortening patch cycles from days to minutes. |
Why Karios Shield Matters
Security shouldn’t be an add-on, it’s the bedrock of reliable digital infrastructure. While most platforms bolt on tools that fragment visibility, Karios Shield embeds OpenSCAP at the hypervisor level, delivering always-on, audit-ready protection from the first boot.