Top 5 WAF Applications
#1. Check Point CloudGuard WAF
CloudGuard WAF from Check Point offers comprehensive real-time security against both known (OWASP top 10) and unknown (zero day) threats. A cloud-native solution by design, CloudGuard also enables CI/CD-friendly deployments and automation. Other features include comprehensive API discovery and advanced DDoS prevention.
With contextual AI analysis, CloudGuard doesn’t rely on signature-based detection. Instead, it monitors app and API interactions to understand normal and benign traffic patterns. Then, it applies this baseline to future requests to identify malicious behavior that should be blocked or investigated.
Machine learning-based security enhances both coverage (extending detection to zero day attacks) and accuracy (increasing catch rates) to find and remediate more attacks while minimizing false positives. CloudGuard’s AI-based analysis improves with time as it trains on more data specific to your network, improving its model of normal activity.
Key Features:
- Proactive AI detection methods that spot known and unknown threats.
- Comprehensive API discovery and visibility.
- The firewall is automatically deployed regardless of cloud environment.
#2. Cloudflare WAF
Cloudflare WAF offers extensive protections through a machine learning detection method and layered ruleset. The platform monitors traffic to spot anomalies that could be indicative of unknown or zero day threats. The layered rulesets can be quickly implemented to inspect traffic for OWASP threats or customized to your needs and risk appetite.
A cloud-based tool, Cloudflare’s web application firewall security platform is part of a broader services suite, including DNS, Content Delivery Network (CDN), and DDoS protection. With advanced rate limiting, Cloudflare WAF protects both applications and APIs from enforced downtime and brute force attacks.
Users report that platform management is straightforward, and the tool can be set up quickly without significant expertise or training. Cloudflare even offers no-code configuration for users without coding experience to secure their applications.
However, there are also some issues, including lower catch rates compared to other, more secure WAFs. While Cloudflare WAF has a low false positive rate, it also has a low true positive rate, meaning it is more likely to let threats pass without taking action. Finally, it is not the most stable firewall, and there are limited third-party integrations.
Key Features:
- Machine learning detection enables zero day identification.
- Managed out-of-the-box or customized rulesets to automate protection quickly or design an approach that better fits your organization.
- Real-time analysis to understand unexpected traffic.
#3. Azure WAF
Azure WAF is a cloud-native solution from Microsoft that integrates with the Azure Application Gateway and provides centralized protection for web applications. This includes protection against common threats such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting.
Azure WAF delivers real-time visibility into web application traffic while implementing customized or managed rules. As you would expect, the firewall also provides interoperability with Azure services, including security tools such as secure information event management (SIEM).
Unlike the top WAF applications, Azure WAF does not provide AI-driven analytics and requires frequent updates, increasing its maintenance requirements. Tests have also shown high false positive rates, distracting security teams from focusing on more meaningful work.
Key Features:
- Protects web applications against the most common threats.
- Interoperability with other Azure services and security tools.
#4. open-appsec
An open-source WAF, open-appsec is deployed as an add-on to API Gateways, Kubernetes Ingress, Envoy, and NGINX. open-appsec utilizes machine learning-based detection to protect both web applications and APIs from the OWASP top 10 and zero day vulnerabilities.
open-appsec monitors normal web application interactions to identify any suspicious requests that fall beyond expected activity. It does this using two machine-learning models:
- Supervised model trained offline on millions of malicious and safe requests.
- Unsupervised model specific to the environment and trained on its traffic patterns.
Relying solely on anomaly detection, open-appsec does not utilize threat signatures at all, simplifying maintenance by removing the need for constant updates. However, this does mean the WAF can create false positives, incorrectly identifying benign requests as malicious. This leads to legitimate requests being blocked, worsening app and API services.
Other downsides include the initial learning phase and having to manually configure the tool. The learning phase is the time it takes the WAF to observe web app traffic and establish baselines. Configuring open-appsec can be especially difficult for highly customized APIs or microservices.
Key Features:
- Open source WAF for API Gateways, Kubernetes Ingress, Envoy, and NGINX.
- Simplifies maintenance and protects against zero day attacks through machine learning-based analysis.
#5. Akamai Site Defender
Akamai Site Defender is a cloud-based WAF that provides a range of protections, including API security, DDoS protection, and bot mitigation. Site Defender utilizes machine learning analysis for adaptive anomaly detection in real time. This includes spotting suspicious activity that could be indicative of new threats.
A cloud-agnostic solution, Site Defender offers protection regardless of where applications are hosted. The WAF is also scalable and resilient, being built on Akamai’s global network.
However, there are some disadvantages that prevent Site Defender from being the best WAF application on the market. These include complicated maintenance related to developing customized rules, increased web latency, and challenges navigating the Site Defender interface.
Key Features:
- Real-time adaptive machine learning protections.
- Cloud-agnostic WAF that protects apps across different hosting services.
Feedback