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Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) defend applications against cyber threats that aim to exploit vulnerabilities in web applications. These attacks mainly aim to steal sensitive data or bring down the website. According to statistical data, by 2027, WAFs size is expected to reach USD 13.8 Billion.
Many e-commerce companies are implementing WAF (Web Application Firewall) into their IT infrastructure since it is a barrier between website and internet traffic, which monitors and filters HTTP requests.
Understanding the Basics: What is a Web Application Firewall (WAF)
WAF or web application firewall safeguards web applications by monitoring and filtering HTTP traffic that flows between the application and the internet. WAFs block all malicious requests, present a challenge to suspicious requests, and allow visitors to access your website securely.
One of the most common attacks that WAF protects against is DDoS (denial of service) attack. These attacks are performed by sending excessive traffic to the web application, which causes the server to become overloaded and unable to process legitimate requests.
The Increasing Importance of Security in E-Commerce
The increasing significance of security in e-commerce is driven by the growing incidence of regulatory requirements, data security concerns, expanding reach of e-commerce, and cyber security issues. To protect customers’ data, e-commerce should implement robust cyber security protocols.
Specific Security Threats Faced by E-Commerce Websites
E-commerce websites have to face several security threats because of the valuable data they handle. Below are the key security threats faced by e-commerce websites.
Payment-Card theft
Cybercriminals target e-commerce websites to steal payment card data, including expiration dates and credit card numbers, through several methods like web skimming.
SQL Injection (SQLi) and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
These web application vulnerabilities allow hackers to implement malicious codes, steal sensitive information, and manipulate data from the user’s web browsers or website’s database.
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)
E-commerce websites are vulnerable to DDoS attacks that overpower their server with huge amounts of traffic, causing prolonged or temporary downtime.
How WAFs Enhance E-Commerce Security: The Technical Perspective
Let’s look at how WAFs enhance e-commerce security from a technical perspective.
Web traffic filtering
The WAF is configured to intercept incoming and outgoing traffic between the client and the web application server. In incoming traffic, the WAF checks suspicious activity and identifies malicious traffic patterns that specify intrusion attempts, e.g. SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS), etc.
Geo-location filtering
WAF can be configured to block traffic from specific countries or regions, helping to reduce the number of attacks reaching applications.
Application Programming Interface (API) security
For e-commerce businesses that use APIs for several integrations, WAF can protect API endpoints from cyber attacks and enforce API-specific privacy policies.
SSL/TLS termination
Some advanced WAFs offer SSL/TLS termination capabilities. They help in decrypting incoming encrypted traffic, re-encrypt traffic, and inspect for threats before sending it to the application server. These allow the WAF to examine the traffic in clear text, enhancing its capability to block and detect attacks hidden in encrypted data.
Real-World Examples: E-Commerce Businesses Benefiting from WAFs
Let’s look at some of the real-world examples where e-commerce businesses benefit from WAFs.
SHOPPY
SHOPPY, an e-commerce business based in Xiamen, China uses CloudFlare WAF for its websites. It is now more protected from application vulnerabilities, brute-force login attempts, and malicious attacks. WAF has created a dedicated security defense system for them, making SHOPPY more secure for its online customers.
Alibaba
Alibaba Group is a Chinese Multinational e-commerce conglomerate operating multiple online services and marketplaces. It deploys WAFs across its several platforms to secure customer data, protect against web-based threats and prevent unauthorized access.
Choosing the Right WAF for Your E-Commerce Business: Key Factors to Consider
Choosing the right WAF is a challenging task, but there are several criteria that can help you in your analysis:
Functionalities
Assess the functionalities offered by the WAF, e.g. prevention of SQL injection attacks, defense against DDoS attacks, alleviation of malicious bots, and other features that meet the needs of the organization.
Scalability
Ensure the WAF is scalable and capable of meeting your organization’s growing needs and requirements.
Usability
Evaluate the ease of use of the WAF, verifying that the management interface is intuitive and that the automation features help simplify security management.
Technical Support
Ensure the WAF vendor offers good technical support, including business hours or 24/7 support, complete documentation, and training resources.
Implementing a WAF in an E-Commerce Environment: Step-by-Step Guide
Implementing a WAF in an e-commerce environment is a vital step to improve privacy and protect against diverse online threats. Below are step-by-step guides to help you implement a WAF efficiently:
Step 1: Assessment and Planning
Identify the e-commerce application’s architecture, including the application server, database server, and web server. Also, verify the types of safety threats the WAF should protect against based on the e-commerce platform’s possible risks and vulnerabilities.
Step 2: Preparation
Inform your operation and development team about the upcoming WAF execution to guarantee the least disruption and coordination. Also, back up your e-commerce databases and websites to guarantee you can restore the environment in case of any problem during the implementation process.
Step 3: Configuration
Configure SSL/TLS termination settings; configure the WAF settings based on your privacy requirements. This will contain specifying rules for common threats like XXS or SQL injections. Enable geo-location filtering to block traffic from malicious websites or high-risk regions.
Step 4: Testing
You should perform systematic testing of WAF before putting it into production. Test dissimilar scenarios, including virtual attacks and valid traffic. Perform vulnerability scanning to guarantee WAF efficiently blocks common web application vulnerabilities.
Step 5: Monitoring
Do continuous monitoring to capture possible threats. Regularly review WAF performance metrics to guarantee its efficiency and recognize any anomalies. Also, keep WAF rules and software updated to defend against new threats.
Step 6: Incident Response
Implement an incident response plan, particularly for WAF-related privacy incidents, to handle detected attacks and threats efficiently.
Step 7: Educate Employees and Users
It is important to train employees about the significance of WAF and how to respond to possible security incidents. Also, inform your users about best practices for online security, including how to avoid phishing attacks.
Maintaining and Updating Your WAF: Best Practices for Continued Security
Maintaining and updating WAF is important to guarantee privacy in e-commerce. Implement these best practices to keep WAF updated and effective:
Threat intelligence integration
It is important to integrate threat intelligence feeds in WAF to guarantee its ability to block and detect possible threats.
Logging and monitoring
Maintain a check on detailed logs of WAF activity, monitor them regularly, and respond quickly to any suspicious activity.
Incident response planning
Develop an incident response plan, particularly for WAF-related privacy incidents, to handle possible threats effectively.
Final Words
A WAF protects your website against known cyber attacks such as cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection, and malicious activities. Usually, these threats use an authorized protocol, such as HTTP, and attack applications and systems via that protocol.
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