IBM on Wednesday will unveil two new security products aimed at solidifying the com-panys position in the authentication and authorization market.
The Tivoli Identity Director and Intrusion Manager products are companions to IBMs exist-ing Policy Director software, which has also been given an overhaul.
Identity Director is a large part of that new strategy. The software is based on a workflow engine that accepts data from a variety of sources, including HR and help-desk applications, and then creates a user profile in an LDAP directory. It includes a Web-based front-end that enables us-ers to reset their own passwords.
The new Intrusion Manager product uses a central management console to monitor threats, attacks and vulnerabilities through a system of up to 20 sensors deployed throughout the network. Aimed at mid-sized businesses, Intrusion Manager is meant to help reduce the number of false positives that hinder many intrusion-detection systems. The software relies on historical pattern matching to identify threats.
IBM is making a significant push in the security market, said Arvind Krishna, vice presi-dent of security products in the Tivoli software group at IBM, based in Armonk, N.Y.
“Our business focus will be on security at Tivoli,” Krishna said of the brand which was once a separate division of IBM. “Authentication, authorization and administration has the best growth potential and will be our focus—things like access management, Web access management and identity management.”
Enhancements to Policy Director include support for applications from a wider range of third-party vendors, including SAP AG, BroadVision Inc., Plumtree Software Inc. and BEA Sys-tems Inc.