Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    XML Firewalls Aid Services

    By
    Darryl K. Taft
    -
    August 19, 2002
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Two technology companies are helping corporate users embrace XML-based information while ensuring the security and integrity of the messages that come into their systems.

      Quadrasis and Tarari Inc. this week will each introduce so-called XML firewalls that will offer businesses ways of inspecting XML messages before they enter their systems.

      An XML firewall acts like a traditional firewall in that it intercepts traffic and makes redirection or transformation decisions based on policies, but it can also look inside messages, parse the XML content, and make security and routing decisions.

      Rich Salz, principal engineer at DataPower Technology Inc., in Cambridge, Mass., said the XML firewalls are crucial for Web services.

      “As organizations increasingly make themselves open to XML traffic, theyre going to want to be able to filter or otherwise validate it—and do that the XML way,” Salz said. But, he added, “to really succeed, vendors will need hard-core XML expertise.”

      Quadrasis, a division of Hitachi Computer Products (America) Inc., of Waltham, Mass., this week is rolling out Quadrasis/Xtradyne SOAP Content Inspector, software that inspects and secures Simple Object Access Protocol messages and enables enterprises to take Web services outside their networks. Quadrasis developed the technology in cooperation with Xtradyne Technologies AG, of Berlin.

      The tool secures SOAP-to-SOAP communication via proxy servers with authentication, authorization, audit, alarm and policy techniques, said Quadrasis Chief Technology Officer Bret Hartman. It provides single-sign-on technology and can distinguish between standard HTML and SOAP messages. It includes a SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) attribute assertion and can sign and verify defined SOAP messages.

      “SOAP means youre open to the whole world of remote procedure calls,” Hartman said. “The point of SOAP is you have a huge hole in the system” that can be exploited, he said.

      SOAP Content Inspector provides an additional layer of security for inspecting the validity of the request by mapping authentication from requester to recipient and then adding a SAML token to inspected SOAP applications, Hartman said.

      He said the Quadrasis product also links SAML with the WS-Security (Web Services Security) specification developed by Microsoft Corp., IBM and VeriSign Inc.

      Ray Wagner, an analyst with Gartner Inc., in Stamford, Conn., said Quadrasis is “very early” in delivering a solution that has WS-Security and SAML working together, but he expects other products to be released from other companies by years end.

      “Whats special about the Quadrasis product is that it performs SAML attribute mapping,” said Jason Bloomberg, an analyst with ZapThink LLC, also in Cambridge. “In contrast, products like Vordel [Ltd.s] support SAML but delegate the management of the SAML tokens to a third-party product.”

      Meanwhile, Tarari, a San Diego-based spinoff of Intel Corp. that is launching this week, is announcing its combination hardware/software Tarari Content Processors. The processors act as an XML network appliance, reading and certifying every message as well as performing the SOAP filtering.

      The technology, which can also handle issues beyond Web services, has been in development for about a year at Intel, said President and CEO Randy Smerik. It is in beta now and will ship in December.

      An XML architect from a Fortune 500 financial services company said his company uses Westbridge Technology Inc.s XML Application Firewall.

      “One of the critical problems we have is integrating the security schemes of the disparate Web services we are connecting,” said the architect, who requested anonymity. “With the Westbridge product, we can provide interoperability of multiple heterogeneous systems, now and going forward. We do not have to modify or add any code in our business systems for it to work.”

      Related stories:

      • PeopleSoft Backs Sybase
      • PeopleSoft Turns A Profit
      Darryl K. Taft
      Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×