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What is a WAF? Web Application Firewall explained
The web application firewall is an essential part of every business’s infrastructure. This is the only single tool that helps protect the web application infrastructure from various cyber security threats using multiple methodologies. Today we are going to discuss WFA (Web Application Firewall) and how it detects or prevents cyber attacks.
WAF (Web Application Firewall)
In a simple way, WAF becomes a barrier between a web application and the outside world. WAF secured and guard the seventh layer OSI (Open Systems Interconnection Model) model which prevents vulnerabilities like large-scale DDoS Attacks.
How it does prevent such cyber-attacks?
A Web Application Firewall works by monitoring HTTP traffic coming into your application and then decides whether to allow or block a request based on the Security Rules set by you or by the service provider. For example, it prevents SQL Injection, XSS, session hijacking, buffer overflow, DoS, and C&C communication.
You can check out my How can you enable and disable the firewall in AWS here.
The WAF monitor every HTTP request or traffic on your application and based on that it creates a Blacklist and Whitelist rules. In a way it allows legit requests to access your application.
Here is the Seventh Layer WAF protection list:
App profiling
WAF analyzes app structure, including URLs, values, allowed traffic requests, and permitted data types. Such profiling then enables the tool to detect and block anything unusual.
AI-based traffic pattern analysis
An AI-powered WAF monitors the usual traffic patterns for potentially safe or malicious behaviors, enabling the tool to detect and block any anomalous behavior. Attack signatures database: WAF may use known malicious attack patterns/signatures databases, like malicious IPs, server responses, or malicious request types, to detect unusual activities. However, this approach might not be helpful against novel attack patterns.
CDN (Content delivery network)
Cloud-based WAF deployed on a network can offer a CDN for website caching and improving load times.
Customization
WAF allows setting up custom rules to permit a particular type of traffic. This customization ensures that only the permitted traffic is passed through while blocking anything not allowed.
Correlation engine
Uses customization, attack signature analysis, traffic pattern analysis, and app profiling to analyze incoming traffic and block anything malicious.
DDoS protection
Cloud-based WAF redirects the traffic to the DDoS protection platform upon detecting a DDoS attack the redirection can handle large traffic volumes, therefore, preventing traffic from reaching its intended target.
WAFs are important for businesses because they provide an extra layer of security that helps protect against common attacks like SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), malware, and zero-day attacks.
It is better to have fully managed WAF for your web applications.
