Web Application Firewalls (WAF) safeguard web applications by preventing attacks and enhancing security.

WAF / Variable Solution / June 21, 2024

Introduction to WAF

A web application is an application software that runs on a web server, unlike computer-based software programs that are run locally on the operating system (OS) of the device. Web applications are protected by a web application firewall (WAF) from a range of application layer vulnerabilities including cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection, cookie poisoning, and others.

A WAF protects web applications by filtering, monitoring, and blocking any malicious HTTP/S traffic traveling to the web application, and prevents any unauthorized access to the application.

WAF over network firewall

It's important to note that a WAF does not replace a firewall as they are independent devices or functions which complement each other. A Firewall, at its most level, is a device or appliance with a collection of rules which dictate who can talk to whom. Whereas WAF is a protocol layer 7 defense (in the OSI model) and is not designed to defend against all types of attacks. There are various types of WAF solutions available but in this blog, we will be discussing the F5 Big-IP system.

F5 Big-IP

F5, Inc. is an American technology company specializing in application security, multi-cloud management, online fraud prevention, application delivery networking (ADN), application availability & performance, network security, and access & authorization.

BIG-IP software products are licensed modules that run on top of F5’s Traffic Management Operation System (TMOS). This custom operating system is an event-driven operating system designed specifically to inspect network and application traffic and make real-time decisions based on the configurations that have been provided. The BIG-IP software can run on hardware or can run in virtualized environments. Before configuring and using the Big-IP system, The system must be activated with a valid license.

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