The Web Application Firewall (WAF) protects online services from malicious internet traffic. Basically, the function of WAF is to detect malicious traffic to filter out threats which may bring havoc for the online applications. Thereby, it examines HTTP traffic before it reaches the application server. Besides, it offers protection against the unauthorized transfer of data from the server.
Web Application Firewall Security (WAF Security)
There are two security models that Web Application Firewall security work on namely the positive and negative security models or a combination of both(hybrid security model). The positive security model (whitelist) denies everything not named as allowed whereas the negative security model (blacklist) works based on the banned items and allows everything. Web Application Firewall security prevents many attacks such as Cross-site Scripting (XSS), SQL injection, Cookie poisoning, Unvalidated input, Layer 7 DoS, and Web scraping — Data scraping.
Top 7 Web application Firewalls Comparison
Here is a list of top 7 web application firewalls that are efficient enough to protect your system from internet hacks. Go through it carefully before you make your choices:
Sucuri Website Firewall
The Sucuri Web Application Firewall is an online service wherein a website’s address gets hosted at Sucuri’s server and therefore directs all your Web traffic goes there first. Malicious files /codes are filtered through a range of techniques. The Sucuri Web Application Firewall is offered in the subscription model, and pricing starts from $9.99/month for the basic package.
StackPath Web Application Firewall
StackPath which specializes in “edge technology” offers Web Application Firewall as one of a suites of cloud-based service. Basically, StackPath is a subscription-based Cloud service and the offsite configuration offers extra security for a Web server as any malicious code doesn’t even get a chance to touch the resources. The defenses offered by this service are IP address assessment, browser validation, and the use of content rules. The Web Application Firewall is offered free for the first month of service.
Akamai Kona Site Defender
This Web Application Firewall is the best across the globe in DDoS mitigation as it integrates full DDoS protection. The Akamai Kona Site Defender is a reputable WAF due to the reason that it often is the first to discover new exploits. By choosing Akamai Kona Site Defender, the user will stay ahead of the curve with tighter and smarter blocks on online criminal traffic.
Amazon AWS WAF
The Amazon AWS web application firewall, sometimes also referred to as AWS WAF is offered only to customers of the Amazon Web Services. The WAF packs the Amazon content delivery network and Application Load Balancer. The web application firewallis offered an add-on to the user’s existing subscription due to the reason that Amazon Web Services are cloud-based. They come at affordable rates, the users are billed based on each security rule that is set up and for the number of web requests per month.
Cloudbric Web Application Firewall
Cloudbric Web Application Firewall is a cloud-based web security provider based in South Korea. It offers DDoS protection, SSL solution, and WAF – Web Application Firewall. Its pricing model is based on monthly website traffic rather than premium service features. The Cloudbric Web Application Firewall works as a proxy to identify and separate malicious attacks, thereby requiring its customers to change their website’s Domain Name System (DNS).
Barracuda Web Application Firewall
Barracuda provides the complete set of Web Application Firewall features and architectures starting with support for physical and virtual appliances, public cloud-based implementations. The architecture arrives with its own set of advantages and disadvantages, ranging from SaaS option to the fine-grained control over configuration and deployment with the appliance-based offerings. It’s hardware appliances begin at $5,249, with virtual appliances coming in at $2,579.
Comodo Web Application Firewall
Comodo Web Application Firewall (CWAF) is efficient, real-time protection for websites and web applications running on LiteSpeed, Nginx on Linux, and Apache. Comodo Web Application Firewall known as CWAF supports ModSecurity rules, security and intrusion protection.
It is devised to protect sensitive customer data, meets PCI compliance requirements, effectively blocks unauthorized access, and prevents SQL injection and Cross Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. The web interface is customizable, free ModSecurity rules-based traffic control system that delivers robust, long-term protection against all known web-server attacks. The setup is quick and easy which takes a few minutes and does not require any server-side installs.
No wonder, today web applications form the vital components for all online business. They are the ones that run many things on a website ranging from online stores to dynamic content, and much more. With all this running in the background, it is impossible to take the risk of a security breach. An unanticipated attack on the web applications can leave a devastating impact for the site owner, thereby it is important to have a web application firewall in place to steer clear from such online dangers. So, make your decision wisely!