Tech Insights

Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Last updated May 19, 2025, generated by Sumble

What is Web Application Firewall (WAF)?

A Web Application Firewall (WAF) is a security mechanism that filters, monitors, and blocks malicious HTTP(S) traffic traveling to a web application, and prevents any unauthorized data from leaving the application. It operates at the application layer (Layer 7) of the OSI model, inspecting the content of specific application traffic, such as HTTP requests. WAFs are commonly used to protect web applications from attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and cross-site request forgery (CSRF).

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What other technologies are related to Web Application Firewall (WAF)?

Web Application Firewall (WAF) Competitor Technologies

network- and host- based firewalls

Firewalls provide broad network security, including traffic filtering, which can overlap with WAF functionality. Traditional firewalls operate at Layer 3 and 4 while WAFs operate at Layer 7.

mentioned alongside Web Application Firewall (WAF) in 34% (61) of relevant job posts

IDS/IPS

Intrusion Detection/Prevention Systems monitor network traffic for malicious activity. While they operate at different layers (WAF is Layer 7), they can both detect and prevent some of the same attacks.

mentioned alongside Web Application Firewall (WAF) in 0% (79) of relevant job posts

Firewall

Firewalls provide broad network security, including traffic filtering, which can overlap with WAF functionality. Traditional firewalls operate at Layer 3 and 4 while WAFs operate at Layer 7.

mentioned alongside Web Application Firewall (WAF) in 0% (54) of relevant job posts

Web Application Firewall (WAF) Complementary Technologies

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

DLP focuses on preventing sensitive data from leaving the organization, which complements WAF's role in protecting web applications from attacks.

mentioned alongside Web Application Firewall (WAF) in 4% (112) of relevant job posts

Sandboxing

Sandboxing is used to execute potentially malicious code in an isolated environment. It helps to identify zero-day exploits that WAF can then block. Can be used to develop new WAF rules

mentioned alongside Web Application Firewall (WAF) in 6% (71) of relevant job posts

Threat Intelligence

Threat intelligence provides information about current threats and vulnerabilities, which can be used to improve WAF rules and protection.

mentioned alongside Web Application Firewall (WAF) in 2% (69) of relevant job posts