Web Application Firewall
A
web application firewall (WAF) is a security tool that monitors and filters
data packets to and from web applications to protect them from threats. WAFs
are a critical defense for online businesses that need to protect sensitive
data, such as retailers, banks, healthcare, and social media.
Here's
how a WAF works:
- Analyzes HTTP requests: A WAF examines the headers, query strings, and body of HTTP requests.
- Identifies threats: A WAF searches for malicious requests, suspicious patterns, and known threats.
- Blocks requests: When a threat is detected, a WAF blocks the request and alerts security teams.
WAFs
can protect against a variety of threats, including:
- Malware
- Malicious bots
- Zero-day exploits
- Cross-site scripting (XSS)
- SQL injection
- Cross-site request forgery
- Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks
- Buffer Overflow
WAFs
can be deployed in various ways, including network-based, host-based, or
cloud-based. They are usually part of a suite of tools that work together to
create a comprehensive defense against various attack vectors.