The maXecurity products from P2 Security are Web access management appliances that are inserted into the network and provide reverse proxy capabilities between end users and the organization's Web servers/applications. As a reverse proxy, the devices can enforce Web access policies (i.e., which Web-based applications can be accessed by which users) as end users attempt to access the targeted Web applications.

The devices integrate with the existing infrastructure via standards based communications with Web servers (HTTP 1.1) for the communications with the actual Web applications, and LDAP (v3) user directories for the retrieval of user identity and access policy information. The vendor states that the deployment of a new appliance requires two steps: configuring the IP of the device, and pointing it to an LDAP repository that contains the defined access policies for it to enforce. The vendor notes that they are designed to be stateless in nature and therefore can operate behind existing load balancing gear.

A key feature of the appliances is their support for what the vendor calls "TrustMapping" technology, in which any LDAP store can be "trusted" to leverage unique data from each available directory. This technology, in combination with the appliance's proxy-based implementation, enables single sign-on capabilities across multiple LDAP v3 directories without requiring the synchronization of user passwords, attributes, or groups.

Management of the device is via a role-based Web GUI (available roles include Infrastructure administrator, Security administrator, Web application owner, and Auditor), with reporting features including the ability to enumerate access violations (rejected authentication attempts), entitlements (which users can access which applications), and administrative activities. The Auditor role, in particular, provides read-only access to report data; and the report data can also be exported for use in Excel.

New features in the latest maXecurity release include enhancements specifically related to compliance with PCI DSS mandates (including all data fields in PCI DSS Section 10 requirements); and enhancements in the prevention of protocol-level and DoS attacks.

Three maXecurity appliances are offered (Basic, Pro, and Enterprise), supporting 100, 1000, and 10,000 simultaneous Web requests and 500, 5,000, and 50,000 users, respectively. Pricing starts at $25,000. The appliances can be mixed and matched in a single deployment and are all available now.

Contact P2 Security LLC for further information.