Protecting directories on a Apache web server by directory name string match?

Question

Using Apache, is there a way to protect all items beneath directory names that contain a certain string?

For example, if I have this structure:

wwwroot-->
  project1-->
    docs-->
        xls
        doc
          private_docs-->
            txt
        txt
    private-->
        pdf
        doc
  project2-->
    docs-->
        log
        txt

Is it possible to user password protect all directories that contain the word "private" ?

Answer 1

It sure seems like you need to place your authorization configuration in either a LocationMatch or DirectoryMatch container.

The match expression might look something like ^/.*/private.*.