Security, proxy, threat mediation, and content processing services for Web Application Firewall.
What is a Web Application Firewall?
A Web Application Firewall, provides security, proxy, threat mediation, and content processing services for a web-based application. Examples of such applications include registration, benefits management, ticket sales, or an e-commerce system. Additionally, a Web Application Firewall or WAF provides security against malicious Internet traffic for online services. WAFs detect and filter threats, such as those listed in the OWASP Top 10, that can disrupt, compromise, or crash online applications.
A Web Application Firewall helps in load balancing by inspecting HTTP traffic before it reaches the application server. Moreover, they provide protection against web application vulnerabilities and unauthorized data transfer from the web server during a time when security breaches are on the rise. According to the Data Breach Investigations Report, web application attacks were the most common breaches in 2017 and 2020.
The Security Standards Council ( PCI) defines a web application firewall as “a security policy enforcement point positioned between a web application and a client endpoint.” This functionality can be implemented in software or hardware running on a device or in a typical server running a common operating system. It can be a standalone device or can be integrated with other network components.”
What purposes does a Web Application Firewall serve?
- Proxy web applications.
- Providing authentication and authorization services with or without cookie encryption.
- Protection against cross-site scripting (XSS).
- Session timeout management.
- Processing and filtering of name-value input.
A common use of a Web Application Firewall is to provide perimeter authentication for web applications. This authentication informs the remote application server of the user identity in a form that the application server can accept.
A Web Application Firewall is primarily designed to process traffic involving URL-encoded HTTP POST requests. A Web Application Firewall can handle HTTP GET requests with or without query strings. While a Web Application Firewall can process XML traffic, it is not designed for web services using SOAP-based XML payloads.
What are its benefits?
A web application firewall (WAF) prevents attacks aimed at exploiting vulnerabilities in web-based applications. Vulnerabilities are common in legacy applications or applications with weak coding or designs. WAFs address coding deficiencies with specific rules or policies.
Intelligent WAFs provide real-time information about application traffic, performance, security, and the threat landscape. This visibility offers administrators the flexibility to respond to the most complex attacks targeting their protected applications. When the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) identified the top security vulnerabilities, WAFs enabled administrators to create custom security rules to combat a list of potential attack methods. An intelligent WAF analyzes the security rules that match a specific transaction and provides real-time visibility as attack patterns evolve. Based on this intelligence, a WAF can reduce false positives.
What it offers:
- Target service proxy. SSL termination. Authentication and authorization services.
- Rate limiting. Session initiation and timeout penalties.
- URL-encoded name-value input processing. HTTP protocol filtering.
- Threat protection against injection attacks, including cookie processing with tagging and encryption.
- Error management. Processing of XML and non-XML content.
When should you use a Web Application Firewall?
Any business that uses a website to generate revenue should use a web application firewall to protect its business data and services. Organizations utilizing online vendors should particularly deploy web application security firewalls, as the security of external entities cannot be controlled or trusted.
