WAF works as a barrier between the web application and the internet, analyzing all incoming and outgoing traffic to detect and prevent harmful activities.
What is a Web Application Firewall (WAF)?
It analyzes the content of HTTP/S requests and responses, looking for patterns or anomalies that may indicate an attack. WAFs designed to protect web applications from common attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. WAFs are important because web applications are a prime target for attackers. Web applications are often complex and difficult to secure, and they often contain sensitive data, such as customer information and financial data.
How does WAF work?
WAF use a variety of techniques to filter and monitor HTTP traffic, some common techniques include:
- Signature-based detection: WAFs configured to detect and block known attack signatures. Attack signatures patterns of data that are typically associated with known attacks.
- Heuristic detection: WAFs can also use heuristics to detect and block attacks. Heuristics are rules that are based on the behavior of known attacks.
- Anomaly detection: WAFs can also use anomaly detection to detect and block attacks. Anomaly detection is based on the idea that attacks are typically anomalous, or unusual.
What is the benefits of using WAF ?
There are a number of benefits to using a WAF, including:
- Protection from common attacks: WAFs can protect web applications from common attacks, such as XSS, SQL injection, and command injection.
- Reduced risk of data breaches: WAFs help to reduce the risk of data breaches by blocking attacks that are designed to steal sensitive data.
- Improved compliance: WAFs can help organizations to comply with industry regulations, such as PCI DSS and HIPAA.
Types of WAFs:
There are two main types:
- On-premises WAFs are installed on the customer’s own hardware.
- Cloud-based WAFs are hosted by a third-party provider.
How Can you Choosing a WAF Solution?
When choosing a WAF, there are a number of factors to consider, including:
- Security Features: Look for a WAF that offers robust security features such as protection against common web vulnerabilities like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and DDoS attacks.
- Scalability: Consider the scalability of the WAF solution. Will it be able to handle increasing web traffic and growing application demands without compromising performance? It’s important to choose a WAF that can seamlessly scale with your business needs.
- Ease of Management: Look for a WAF that offers an intuitive and user-friendly management interface. This will make it easier for your team to configure rules, monitor traffic, and respond to potential threats effectively.
- Deployment Options: Consider whether you prefer an on-premises WAF or a cloud-based solution. Cloud-based WAFs often provide greater flexibility, easy integration, and automatic updates, while on-premises options offer more control over the infrastructure.
- The budget: WAFs can range in price from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.
Additional tips for using WAFs:
- Keep the WAF up to date: WAF vendors regularly release updates that include new signatures and rules. It is important to keep the WAF up to date to ensure that it is able to detect and block the latest attacks.
- Monitor the WAF logs: WAFs generate logs that contain information about the traffic that they have filtered and monitored. It is important to monitor the logs to identify any potential attacks.
Our web application firewall solution analyses traffic between users and services. Attempted attacks on applications are blocked before they can reach the in-house systems. It provides comprehensive protection against the OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and enables centralized management of security policies.
📞Contact us today to learn how our experts can help you to protect your web.
