What are the Web Application Firewall Types and Features?

A web application firewall or WAF is a firewall that is intended to protect web applications, APIs, and mobile apps by filtering and monitoring HTTP hurtful traffic between a web application and the Internet.

Therefore, it applies a lot of rules to an HTTP conversation and by inspecting HTTP or HTTPS traffic up to layer 7 of the OSI reference model to forestall web application attacks.

As a rule, a firewall can filters traffic based on IP addresses and ports yet it isn't conceivable to identify intrusions like whether an unwanted protocol is trying to sidestep the firewall. Thus, we have to understand application layer protocols like HTTP, FTP, DNS, and so forth and filter traffic based upon that. That's the reason, web Application Firewalls are created.

Features of Web Application Firewall

A WAF by and large presents the following features:

• Network Monitoring: A WAF can, filtering and blocking of data and access to websites and applications 
• Threat Detection: Automated danger detection, both identity-based and behavioral (for example risk scoring) 
• Malware Protection: It has anti-fraud abilities to protect against financial malware 
• Data Loss Prevention: WAF inspects all inbound traffic for attack and outbound traffic for sensitive data. 
• Application Security: It assists with protecting from layer seven attack and Zero-day attack 
• Flexible: It is a steady web application security and user experience across data focus. 
• Alert system: It provides scheduling alert notification for risk monitoring and examination 
• Reporting: It's providing graphical reports for danger activity, web traffic, and regulatory consistency on application utilization. 

Kinds of Web Application Firewall

There are mainly three kinds of Web Application Firewalls:·

• Network-based Web Application Firewalls 
• Host-based Web Application Firewalls 
• Cloud-based Web Application Firewalls 

(1) Network-based Web Application Firewalls

A network-based WAF is by and large hardware-based and they are installed as near the application as could be expected under the circumstances. It reduces dormancy since it is installed locally. Greatest network-based WAF sellers permit a set of approaches and settings across different appliances.

This sort of firewall follow up on the application layer of the OSI reference model and can overlook the substance of traffic and block explicit traffic according to arrangements. It can likewise glance through the traffic to distinguish the nearness of malware or network intrusions and secure authentication and block suspicious traffic which disregards arrangements. Network-based Web Application Firewalls are otherwise called Proxy-based Firewalls.

The greatest downsides for this kind of WAFs are the more costly and additionally require the storage and maintenance of physical gear.

(2) Host-based Web Application Firewalls

Host-based WAFs might be fully integrated into the application's software. It can examine the information that goes through the network and filter the traffic based on predefined rules.

Host-based Web Application Firewalls can protect against cyber threats like SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting, Meeting Hijacking, Boundary tampering, and cradle overflows, and so forth.

The advantages of application-based WAF implementation are more affordable than a network-based WAF and offer more customization alternatives.

Notwithstanding, the disadvantages of a host-based WAF are the utilization of local server assets, implementation multifaceted nature, and maintenance costs.

(3) Cloud-based Web Application Firewalls

Cloud-based WAFs offer a practical answer for organizations that are anything but difficult to implement however as a third-party product. It is accessible on a subscription premise and requires just a straightforward DNS or proxy change to redirect application traffic. Using this WAF, users don't have to change software or hardware on their systems, and they can successfully protect Sites from threats by applying custom principles.

It protects your Site against different Web threats, including SQL injection, DoS attack, information exposure, theft identification, and ensuring legitimate access. Cloud WAF has the advantage of effectively managing security with no IT skills.

Advantages of Web Application Firewall

The main advantages of WAF appliances are that you keep everything in-house. It gives you unlimited oversight over everything about your IT infrastructure. In any case, the key advantages of web application firewall are as per the following:

(1) Data Protection

An application firewall protects websites and applications against following fraud or data theft and blocking any suspicious activity.

• SQL injection
• Cookie poisoning
• Session hijacking
• Buffer overflows
• Layer 7 DoS
• Zero-day attack
• Brute force
• File inclusion
• Application-specific attacks and more.

(2) Data Leakage

In the event that your application has sensitive data, for example, source code or credit card numbers, then it's anything but difficult to get subject to a hole. A WAF would scan each request to your Internet application users, and WAF stops it from leaving your network.

(3) Weakness Detection

A web application firewall will be protected from web server vulnerabilities, operating system vulnerabilities, and web application vulnerabilities. It likewise provides a network infrastructure answer for software or application security problem.

(4) Availability and Dependability

It plays an important job in maximizing throughput and the high availability of the applications they protect. It ought to include features that address these factors directly:

• Automatic content compression
• Hardware-based SSL acceleration
• Load balancing web requests

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