Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security Enterprise Desktop Base

What is included in Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security Enterprise Desktop?

Virtual desktop protection – File, process and memory scanning on persistent and non-persistent VDI.
Kaspersky Security Center – Single console for policies, tasks, database updates and reporting.
Application Control – Allow-listing and default deny hardening for desktop operating systems.
File Integrity Monitor – Records changes to monitored files and folders for audit evidence.
Patch management – Vulnerability assessment and patch deployment from the same console.
Important – No EDR component, no encryption management and no mobile device coverage.

What are the main benefits of Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security Enterprise Desktop?

Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security Enterprise, Desktop is the Enterprise-tier licence for virtual workstations, managed centrally from Kaspersky Security Center or the Kaspersky Security Center Cloud Console. Licences formerly sold as Kaspersky Security for Virtualization are now issued as Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security Standard or Enterprise, which is why the older name still appears in search results.

Consistent VDI policy – One policy set applies to every non-persistent desktop clone.
Lower host load – Light agents cut resource consumption on shared virtualization hosts.
Default deny hardening – Blocks unapproved software before it runs on desktop images.
Audit-ready change records – File Integrity Monitor logs changes for internal and customer audits.
SIEM connectors – Forwards security events to an existing SIEM without extra tooling.
Migration flexibility – Desktop licences also activate Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business applications.

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Which company size is Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security Enterprise Desktop suitable for?

The decisive question is not headcount but whether virtual desktops are already in production. The licensing object is a virtual workstation, so a company running only physical PCs is buying the wrong licensing model regardless of its size.

Does Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security Enterprise Desktop meet the requirements of Swiss cybersecurity legislation?

The revised Information Security Act introduced a reporting obligation for operators of critical infrastructure in Switzerland, so most companies outside those sectors are not directly affected. Organisations in scope must report a cyberattack to the Federal Office for Cybersecurity (BACS) within 24 hours of discovery. This product supports that deadline in a narrow way: detection events, File Integrity Monitor records and Log Inspection findings from virtual desktops are collected in Kaspersky Security Center and can be forwarded through the Enterprise-tier SIEM connectors, which shortens the time needed to establish what happened on a workstation. It does not cover the reporting process itself, and it produces no evidence from physical servers, virtual servers or network layers unless matching Server or CPU licences are also in place. Because there is no EDR component, reconstructing a full attack chain still requires a separate product. This text is not legal advice, so have your own reporting duties assessed by qualified legal counsel.

Does Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security Enterprise Desktop meet the requirements of European cybersecurity legislation?

No software product makes an organisation NIS 2 compliant, because the directive addresses governance, risk management and reporting duties that sit with the organisation itself. NIS 2 requires measures in categories such as risk analysis and information system security, incident handling, business continuity, supply chain security, access control and the use of cryptography. This product contributes to the first two: malware protection on virtual desktops, Application Control in default deny mode, vulnerability assessment and patch management, and centrally collected incident data. It contributes nothing to business continuity, because no backup or restore function is included, and nothing to a cryptography policy, because encryption management is not part of the feature set. Supply chain security is equally out of scope. Buyers in scope of NIS 2 should treat this licence as one technical control among several, not as a compliance package.

What should you know about official assessments of Kaspersky?

In March 2022 the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) published a warning recommending that Kaspersky products be replaced with alternative products, on national security grounds rather than because of a demonstrated technical defect. In June 2024 the Bureau of Industry and Security at the US Department of Commerce issued a Final Determination prohibiting the sale of Kaspersky software in the United States, with signature updates, codebase updates and Kaspersky Security Network operation for US persons ending on 29 September 2024. That prohibition remains in force, and Italy and the Netherlands have raised concerns limited to government procurement. Kaspersky rejects the assessments, has offered independent third-party verification of its code and updates, and points to its Global Transparency Initiative, under which threat data from European users has been processed in two data centres in Zurich since November 2018. Independent laboratory testing has continued in parallel, and published AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives results are not affected by these government measures. In practice the finding matters most to buyers with US operations or US persons on the network, to bidders for public sector contracts, and to suppliers whose customers exclude software of Russian origin in their vendor questionnaires; no comparable sales restriction is currently in force in Switzerland or the European Union.

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Does Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security Enterprise Desktop help with security questionnaires from large customers?

Partly, and the split is predictable. It answers the questionnaire items on malware protection for end-user workloads, application allow-listing, vulnerability and patch management, file integrity monitoring, log inspection, centrally enforced policy, and forwarding of security events to a SIEM; the Zurich data processing location for Kaspersky Security Network telemetry answers the data residency question for European customers. It answers none of the items on detection and response capability, backup and recovery, disk encryption, multi-factor authentication, mobile device management, email gateway filtering, or protection of servers and network segments, which are outside the Desktop licensing object. Questionnaires that ask about the country of origin of security software will also need a written answer from you rather than from the product. To close the technical gaps the cheaper route is usually to stay inside the same family: Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security Enterprise, Server or CPU for server and container workloads, and a Kaspersky detection and response product where an EDR question is a hard requirement. Mixing vendors adds a second console and a second agent on the same virtual desktop, which is what causes the performance complaints that show up later in VDI projects.

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What is the difference between Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security Desktop and Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security Enterprise Desktop?

The decisive difference is evidence: the Enterprise tier adds File Integrity Monitor, Log Inspection and SIEM connectors, which is what an auditor or a large customer asks for, while the Standard tier stops at protection and control. Enterprise also adds vulnerability assessment and patch management, so software updates on the desktop images are handled in the same console instead of a separate tool. Both tiers share the same protection engine, so the choice is not about detection quality. Container security and Application Control for server operating systems are Enterprise features, but they apply to server workloads and therefore need an Enterprise Server or CPU licence, not a Desktop licence.

Which limitations should you know before buying?

The licensing object is a virtual workstation, counted as the maximum number of virtual desktops that can exist, persistent and non-persistent together; physical servers, virtual servers and cloud server instances are not covered and need a Server or CPU licence. Regional availability is restricted: Kaspersky software cannot lawfully be sold or updated in the United States following the 2024 Final Determination, which rules the product out for organisations with US entities or US persons on the protected network. Technical support for Kaspersky Security for Virtualization Agentless ended on 31 July 2026, so deployments still running the agentless model have to move to the Light Agent, which is already covered by the same licence. Several Enterprise-tier features, notably Application Control for server operating systems and container scanning, only take effect on server workloads and therefore do not add value under a Desktop licence on their own. The components that most often trigger a follow-up purchase are detection and response, encryption management and mobile device coverage, none of which are part of this product.

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Frequently asked questions about Kaspersky Hybrid Cloud Security Enterprise Desktop

Does the Desktop licence protect physical PCs?

The licensing object defined by Kaspersky is the virtual desktop, both persistent and non-persistent. Desktop licences do allow activation of Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business applications, which is how Kaspersky supports a staged migration from physical desktops to VDI, so check the licence certificate for the exact scope before you plan a rollout.

What does Base mean in the product name?

Base is Kaspersky's licence type for a new licence with standard technical support. It is not an add-on and does not require an existing licence, which distinguishes it from the Renewal and Successive types, while the Plus variants such as Base Plus include a higher support tier instead of extra product features.

Can Standard and Enterprise licences be combined in one environment?

Kaspersky treats a mix of Standard and Enterprise licences as a special case that needs approval, with one documented exception: a Hybrid Cloud Security Desktop licence can be used alongside a Hybrid Cloud Security Enterprise Server licence without special approval. Different licensing models such as CPU and Server can be combined when each is deployed in a separate part of the infrastructure.