As cyberattacks become more sophisticated, the demand for advanced cybersecurity solutions intensifies. Traditional web application firewalls (WAFs) can no longer keep pace with the ever-shifting threat landscape. In this article, we explore why businesses must adopt web application and API protection (WAAP) to stay ahead of cybercriminals and safeguard their digital assets.
From WAF to WAAP: The Evolution of Application Security
Web application firewalls (WAF) have long been the standard for protecting web applications from common threats and filtering HTTP traffic to shield against attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting. Acting as gatekeepers, WAFs scrutinize incoming traffic, block malicious requests, and protect against known attack vectors such as cross-site request forgery (CSRF) and remote file inclusion (RFI). Yet, as attackers grow more inventive, the limitations of traditional WAFs become increasingly apparent.
Enter web application and API protection (WAAP). WAAP includes WAF, but extends beyond it, incorporating additional essential layers of security that address the full spectrum of modern threats. Unlike WAF, WAAP integrates advanced features such as bot protection, Layer 7 DDoS mitigation, and API security. By incorporating behavioral analysis and machine learning, WAAP can detect and respond to new, previously unseen attack patterns in real time.
Today’s applications rely heavily on APIs, which allow two or more web app components to communicate. As web apps grow more complex and require an increasing number of connections, API traffic represents an increasing amount of web traffic (approximately 80% today) and has become a prime target for cybercriminals. API-specific vulnerabilities include unauthorized access and data exposure, which traditional WAFs struggle to manage effectively. WAAP excels in this arena, offering secure authentication, meticulous monitoring of API calls, and sophisticated rate limiting to counteract abuse.
The shift from WAF to WAAP reflects a crucial adaptation to the complex and expanding digital threat landscape. With the rise of microservices and cloud-native architectures, security needs have evolved. WAAP delivers a unified, multi-layered defense that evolves with emerging threats, ensuring that both web interfaces and APIs are shielded against sophisticated attacks, allowing businesses to operate securely amidst growing risks.
Real-World Threats Mitigated by WAAP
The multi-faceted approach offered by WAAP is crucial in defending against a variety of significant threats. Here are some real-world examples:
- SQL injection: SQL injection remains one of the most dangerous and prevalent cyber threats. In the infamous Ashley Madison breach, attackers exploited SQL injection vulnerabilities to access sensitive user data, leading to widespread data leaks and severe reputational damage. This type of attack involves inserting malicious SQL queries into input fields, which then manipulate the database. The advanced WAF capabilities afforded by WAAP would have detected and blocked such injections, preventing the breach by filtering and sanitizing the input before it reached the database.
- Data theft: APIs are often the gateway to sensitive data, making them prime targets for attackers looking to steal information like credit card details, personal identifiers, and more. For instance, at the beginning of 2024, attackers exploited unsecured APIs to siphon off sensitive user information from Australian telco giant, Optus. Over nine million customers’ personal information was exposed due to a coding error that compromised API access controls, which remained unresolved for years. With WAAP, API security rigorously assesses requests, identifying and blocking malicious attempts. This vigilance ensures that only legitimate requests are processed, protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access.
- Automated bot attacks: Malicious bots can wreak havoc, overwhelming applications with login attempts (credential stuffing), scraping data, or exploiting vulnerabilities. An example is the rise of large-scale bot attacks on financial institutions, particularly in the Asia-Pacific area, where automated bots attempted to bypass security measures to access user information, such as usernames and passwords, fraudulently. WAAP bot protection leverages behavioral analysis and machine learning to distinguish between beneficial and harmful bots, effectively neutralizing threats while allowing legitimate bots, like search engine crawlers, to function uninterrupted.
- Layer 7 DDoS attacks: Layer 7 DDoS attacks target the application layer, aiming to overwhelm the application with requests, thereby disrupting service availability. Recent attacks exploiting HTTP/2 protocol vulnerabilities highlighted the sophistication of these threats. For example, a series of HTTP/2-based DDoS attacks left web servers across various sectors vulnerable to attacks. WAAP provides Layer 7 DDoS mitigation, which swiftly identifies and neutralizes such threats by analyzing traffic patterns, distinguishing between legitimate and malicious requests, and ensuring uninterrupted service and minimal disruption.
The Anatomy of a WAAP Solution
A comprehensive WAAP solution comprises several key components, each designed to address specific security needs:
- WAF: Shields against common web vulnerabilities like SQL injection and cross-site scripting by filtering and monitoring HTTP traffic. It uses advanced algorithms to intercept and neutralize malicious payloads before they reach the application.
- Bot protection: Distinguishes between beneficial bots (e.g., search engine crawlers) and harmful ones (e.g., brute-force attackers). Leveraging behavioral analysis and machine learning, it blocks malicious bots while allowing helpful ones, maintaining web application integrity.
- Layer 7 DDoS mitigation: Tackles sophisticated DDoS attacks aimed at overloading application resources. By analyzing traffic patterns in real-time, it differentiates between legitimate spikes and malicious attempts, ensuring consistent availability and performance.
- API security: Safeguards APIs from exploitation and breaches by controlling and monitoring API traffic. This includes enforcing strict access controls, validating requests, and identifying anomalies, crucial for protecting sensitive data and maintaining API integrity.
Together, these components create a comprehensive defense system that evolves with the threat landscape, ensuring robust protection for modern applications and APIs.
The Gcore Edge
In the face of rapidly advancing cyber threats, traditional WAF solutions fall short. Businesses must adopt comprehensive WAAP solutions to protect applications and APIs from sophisticated attacks.
Gcore WAAP combines ease of use with cutting-edge proprietary technology. It’s a plug-and-play option that needs no additional setup or specialized knowledge. Offering state-of-the-art, integrated cybersecurity, Gcore WAAP ensures both simplicity and compliance.
Stay tuned for our next article in this WAAP series, featuring an exclusive interview with Itamar Eshet and Noam Saban on Gcore WAAP API and AI.
