What is Web Application Firewall?

WAF i.e. Web Application Firewall is a firewall which monitors filters and blocks the traffic on HTTP and web app.

It helps in protecting the web application by having a control over its input & output and access to and fro the application. WAF inspects each and every HTTPS, HTML, XML-RPC data packet and SOAP. With the help of customised inspection, it helps in preventing the attacks like SQL injection, XSS, buffer overflows and session hijacking that network intrusion and firewalls detection systems cannot handle. WAF detects as well as prevents the unknown attacks by keeping an eye on the unfamiliar patterns on the traffic.

Web Application Firewall for you

It can either be network or host basis. It is deployed typically through proxy and then placed in the front of web applications. In the real-time or near real time, it scrutinizes the traffic before it actually reached the application. Verifying all the requests with the help if a rule base for filtering out the potential and harmful traffic or the traffic patterns. The web application firewall is a very common web security tool which will be used by the businesses for protecting the web applications from the zero day exploits, impersonation and all the known vulnerabilities as well as hackers.

The WAFs started gaining attention when PCI security standards council was formed and the PCI DSS compliance was made mandatory by credit-card brands for the merchants which process the transactions of the payment cards. PCI DSS demands that the web applications should be fortified through the WAF or a code-security review.

WAF offers a patent protected technology for creating as well as maintaining the enterprise network safety policies for the widest safety coverage with low false positives as well as minimum operational efforts.

Once activated, the auto-policy generation module within the WAF analyses the safety related attributes of the safeguarded web application and also derives the potential risks in the apps. The web application is mapped then into the application zones, each of it with its own potential threats. Finally, it generates granular safety rules for every zone and also sets a policy in the blocking mode. Once the process of optimization is successful, false positives will be minimized. It helps in maintaining the best enterprise-network security coverage.

While the WAFs have grown a lot in terms of popularity, so have the web based threat actors too. These actors may be anyone including the teenagers testing the newly found SQL injection skills on the website of an organisation or a nation state sponsored hacked trying to steal some proprietary information.

What makes the web security so difficult? is that the Web Application Firewall design should be open as well as secure. It needs to maintain the availability while also maintaining proper user’s authorization as well as data security. The web VPN portals are significantly challenging as they’re for being secure access channels into an enterprise. Still they exist on open internet which means that anyone can call the webpage and easily access its open content. Learn as much as you can about the open internet because it that case you can be safer than now. Besides that, remind yourself about the internet security tips and be sure that you follow every one that is recommended!

Online vendors

While the web applications are convenience, they are also capable of creating additional attack surface on the data.

The main reason for deploying a web application firewall is protecting the data as well as the services of a business. A number of businesses from the small town banks to large enterprises depend mainly on their presence over the web for bringing in revenue and keeping the enterprise afloat. In case this revenue stream is compromised. It will negatively impact the enterprise in a large number of ways which include:

Loss of revenue

When a web resource becomes unavailable, an enterprise loses a huge amount of revenue from the purchases not happening or the leads are not getting generate.

Loss of customers’ confidence

Customers are paying a lot of attention to the news stories regarding some particular businesses. They may register the name of the business in their minds. They also decides not to do business with them in future. Repo is the most important thing.

Loss of the sensitive data

Websites which has been compromised may help the hackers in getting an access to sensitive information. Just like names, credit-card details, and social security numbers as well as medical information. Other forms of the safe data may include the proprietary info, trading secrets and classified governmental data.

Why would you risk such an accident happens to you? Follow the recommended cyber security tips always!