I started working at a large financial institution several weeks ago as a software engineer and despite every other aspect of this job being great, I am haunted by the constant restrictions that workstation security policy here puts us through. We are not allowed local administrator rights on our Windows 7 workstations which is normal and I agree with. What is more of a concern is that we are only allowed to use software on these workstations that has been approved and added to our Advertised Program list. Being on a greenfield project and working closely with a vendor to get a POC off the ground, this process is too slow and sometimes prevents us from doing our jobs.
I know that other teams have run into this issue and I am unsure how they tackled it, but apparently it is a battle that has already been fought and lost by several groups, even for exceptions to be granted.
I am preparing a document that seeks to demonstrate how if we were allowed to run VirtualBox on a Windows 7 workstation that we can get all the benefits of local admin rights while not causing any undue security risks on the machine or network. I know they are going to look for the easiest way to dismiss my proposal so I am trying to rebut in my document any security concerns that this group might have.
Are there any significant security concerns that are introduced by the introduction of local virtual machines on a restricted workstation? If so, how can such security concerns be mitigated?
My apologies if this question is too broad or posted in the wrong place.