A WAF or website application firewall helps secure web applications by filtering and monitoring HTTP traffic between a web application and the Internet. It generally protects web applications from attacks. Such as cross-site spoofing, cross-site-scripting (XSS), file inclusion, and SQL injection. The WAF is a protocol layer of 7 defense (in the OSI model). And is not designed to protect against all types of attacks. This approach to attack mitigation is typically part of a suite of tools. That together form a holistic defense against a range of attack vectors. Learn how to remove malware from your website.
By deploying the WAF in front of the website application. A shield is placed between the website application and the Internet. While a proxy server uses an intermediary to protect the identity of a client machine. The Website Application Firewall is a type of reverse proxy, protecting the server from exposure by having clients pass through the WAF before arriving at the server.
The WAF controls through a set of rules often called policies. These policies aim to protect against vulnerabilities in applications by filtering malicious traffic The value of a WAF comes in part from the speed and ease with which policy changes can be implemented, allowing for rapid response to different attack vectors; During a DDoS attack, the speed rate can be limited by changing WAF policies. Do you Know How to Secure a WordPress Website? Read this article for WordPress security guidelines.
It works for filters and monitors HTTP traffic from all incoming requests towards that application. Filtering things like:
- Bad traffic (like bots, spam traffic, etc.)
- File inclusion
- Blacklisted IPs
- Contaminated injection
- SQL injection.
By putting it in front of your application, you will better protect your application from malicious actors.
