Our Blog

Features that a Web Application Firewall must have for effective protection

Function of a Web Application Firewall

Today’s cyber-attacks are moving too fast. This constant threat represents a challenge for many organizations, especially at a time when the use of web applications, mobile, APIs and IoT devices is widespread.

As the use of these services grows, so does the number of cyber-attacks, with the corresponding impact this represents for companies. Therefore, a Web Application Firewall (WAF) becomes an essential element in the cybersecurity strategies of any organization.

Differences between a Network Firewall and an Application Firewall.

Network Firewall and Application Firewall, do they do the same function?

Certainly, there are many types of firewalls such as Network Firewalls, Software, Cloud Firewall, Hardware Based Firewall and Application Firewall, but the difference of an Application Firewall with respect to the others is that it can protect web applications from vulnerabilities and HTTP/ S security loopholes.

Network Firewalls operate at Layer 3 and 4 to curb vulnerabilities associated with inbound and outbound network traffic as well as data transfer. WAFs operate at layer 7 and focus on direct threats to applications.

How do Web Application Firewalls operate?

A Web Application Firewall filters traffic that attempts to exploit vulnerabilities in web applications. Like a good inspector at the front door of any headquarters, it analyzes the traffic and allows authorized traffic to pass. Unallowed traffic is classified and examined to block known attacks on web applications among them: 

  • Access violations.
  • Attacks camouflaged behind the CDNs.
  • API manipulations and attacks.
  • Day zero attacks.
  • HTTP/S flooding.
  • Brute force assaults.
  • Server-side request forgery.
  • Inclusion of files.
  • SQL Injection.

One of the most powerful features of the WAF is its ability to create and optimize security policies in real time using behavior-based machine learning algorithms. This gives it the ability to achieve comprehensive security and automatic protection of new applications as they are added to a network.

Characteristics of a WAF for effective protection.

What key capabilities should a WAF include?

As revealed from the Radware web portal, for effective network protection a WAF should include the following functions:

  • Network traffic filtering based on geo-blocking, IP groups, block list, allow list, whitelist and blacklist.
  • API discovery and protection with visibility, compliance and mitigation of all forms of API abuse and manipulation, whether for on-premises or cloud-hosted environments.
  • Integrated DDoS protection to stop the aforementioned DDoS attacks at the application layer.
  • Ability to integrate with bot management solutions to detect and integrate sophisticated bots that look like humans.
  • Data leakage prevention mechanisms to automatically hide sensitive user information, such as personally identifiable information.

When it comes to protecting your network a firewall is an essential tool. However, not all firewalls are the same as we explain in this article. If you have any doubts about what type of firewall to use in your business systems, you can contact us. We have the equipment, the experts and the advice you are looking for, all tailored to your needs!

“Get the best technology solutions for your business. Our experts provide fast, reliable solutions for your technology needs – best service and results today!”

Remember that you can contact us 24 hours a day, seven days a week!.

Comments