Web Application Firewalls - Introduction

Web application firewalls (WAF) are a new breed of information security technology designed to protect web sites from attack. WAF solutions are capable of preventing attacks at 7 Layer (the application layer) that network firewalls and intrusion detection systems can't, and they do not require modification of application source code. We distinguish two WAF architectures proxied and nonproxied which consist of six models (reverse-proxy, transparent reverse-proxy, out-of-band, layer 2 bridge, host mode, server-resist).

We can specify 3 generations of web application firewalls.The first generation of WAF's scans the web applications for any gaps and generates a set of rules that would protect from those gaps. The second generation of WAF's keeps track of all outgoing information. This technology can also be used to block leakage of information. The third generation maps web pages and creates a pattern which blocks every thing that can in some way be a hazard to you.

There is a common prognostication is that WAF will eventually become a component of traditional firewalls.