WAF: WAF stands for Web Application Firewall. It's a security solution designed to protect web applications by filtering and monitoring HTTP/HTTPS traffic between a web application and the Internet. A WAF works by analyzing the traffic to detect and block malicious activities such as:
SQL injection
Cross-site scripting (XSS)
File inclusion attacks
Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks
Types of WAFs:
Network-based WAF: Deployed at the network level, often using hardware appliances.
Host-based WAF: Integrated into an application server or web server, offering high customization.
Cloud-based WAF: Hosted by a third-party provider, easy to deploy without managing infrastructure.
Common examples of WAF:
Sucuri Website Firewall
Fortinet FortiWeb
Imperva Cloud WAF
Barracuda Web Application Firewall
MS Azure Web Application Firewall
Cloudflare WAF
Akamai Kona Site Defender
Difference between Network Firewall and WAF:
A WAF protects web applications by targeting Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) traffic. This differs from a standard firewall, which provides a barrier between external and internal network traffic.
A WAF sits between external users and web applications to analyze all HTTP communication. It then detects and blocks malicious requests before they reach users or web applications. As a result, WAFs secure business-critical web applications and web servers from zero-day threats and other application-layer attacks. This is increasingly important as businesses expand into new digital initiatives, which can leave new web applications and application programming interfaces (APIs) vulnerable to attacks. Learn more about what is a WAF?
A network firewall protects a secured local-area network from unauthorized access to prevent the risk of attacks. Its primary objective is to separate a secured zone from a less secure zone and control communications between the two. Without it, any computer with a public Internet Protocol (IP) address is accessible outside the network and potentially at risk of attack.
Role of WAF in Cyber Security:
By serving as a protective barrier between users and web applications, a Web Application Firewall (WAF) plays a significant part in cybersecurity. It is a security tool created to keep an eye on, filter out, and stop harmful HTTP/HTTPS traffic aimed at web applications. By examining incoming online requests and answers, WAFs assist in defending against a variety of cyber threats, including SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) assaults. WAFs can identify and stop harmful activity by examining the application layer of the traffic, ensuring that only reputable and secure traffic enters the web application.
In order to improve the overall security posture of online applications and safeguard sensitive data from potential cyber threats, WAFs are an important part of a layered security strategy, working in conjunction with other security tools like firewalls and intrusion detection systems (IDS).