We have a partner that is requiring us to get a HSM for a web application that we host for them. This is something new for us, we've always installed our SSL certificates on our web servers and never needed a hardware device. We currently have 2 Cisco ASA 5510 firewalls in an active/standby configuration. Both ASAs have a ASA-SSM-10 security module installed in them.
The web application is a standard HTTPS webpage with no authentication required. I was wondering if we could use our Cisco ASAs to meet this requirement or if we'll have to buy another device. I was doing some searching and read about Cisco's clientless webvpn feature. It sounds like it might work, but I'm not sure. We basically want the ASA to handle the SSL and proxy the connection to our web servers. We do not want to prompt for a username or password to connect or show any portals, just display the web page.
If the ASA cannot do this, does any one have any recommendations for network attached hardware security modules? We are using VMware vCenter, so we'd rather have an external device attached to the network, rather than buying HSM cards for every ESXi host.
Thanks,
Derek
Best Answer
The ASA won't do what your after as far as I know. Typically I have installed the SSL cert on the web server its self.
If you can't do that it might be a better option to use apache as a reverse proxy and have it present the https and certificate.