How to Choose a Web Application Firewall (WAF) for Your Business

Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) sit between an application and its wider network. Since they’re such an established component of today’s security toolkit, the scope of individual WAF features can vary immensely. Choosing the right one is key to defining and securing your organization’s application traffic.

While customization is always an option, being able to precisely define your WAF selection criteria is key to an efficient purchasing process. It allows a WAF to match an organization’s own requirements – from protecting niche internal workflows to applying full-scale protection to public-facing applications.

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Key Considerations When Choosing a WAF

Here are a few key things to consider when choosing a WAF solution.

Clarify Your Operational Requirements

Before implementing any security software or hardware, organizations must first establish an up-to-date application security policy that clearly defines their objectives and outlines how they intend to secure their web applications.

Outline Your Application Requirements

When conducting a web application firewall (WAF) comparison, clearly outlining your application’s requirements is critical. It ensures that each WAF is evaluated based on how well it protects each relevant component.

Modern WAFs offer a wide range of functions, but not every application needs every feature. Understanding your application’s:

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트래픽 패턴
Cyber threat profile

allows for a more accurate match between security capabilities and real-world risks.

For example:

Applications handling sensitive user input may prioritize request filtering to guard against SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS)
High-traffic platforms may need rate limiting to prevent DIstributed Denial of Service (DDoS attacks)
Applications targeted by credential stuffing or content scraping will require robust bot mitigation
SaaS-based apps might prioritize WAFs that secure and categorize APIs
Content-heavy or high-volume apps may need a scalable, high-throughput device

Additional requirements can include:

Geo-blocking: To restrict access from high-risk geographic regions
Network behavioral analysis: Using AI models to flag anomalies based on application behavior

Identify Employee Firepower

WAFs are not set-and-forget solutions.

As such, it’s vital to keep in mind when choosing a WAF solution that they need both upfront and ongoing attention – so the security team must have the extra bandwidth to accommodate this. WAF deployment options can take anything from less than an hour to several months’ worth of work

Cloud-based WAFs are generally faster at this, able to be set up in minutes or hours
A traditional on-premises WAF may require weeks or months for hardware tuning and configuration

From there, it requires ongoing maintenance:

Traditional WAFs require dedicated staff to handle rule creation, updates, and troubleshooting
It’s not uncommon for organizations to supplement their security teams with multiple extra full-time staff members to maintain a traditional WAF
Choosing a more modern or cloud-based solution can reduce this requirement to one or two full-time employees
This makes a cloud WAF one of the best for a small business

Identify Your Regulatory Requirements

Since WAFs are able to pick apart application traffic and block malicious users, they form a core part of a security strategy. However, it’s vital to be clear on precisely which regulations a WAF can support.

One of the more stringent regulations is PCI DSS. Taking this as an example, Requirement 6.6 specifically mandates that organizations protect public-facing applications — either by deploying a WAF or by conducting regular security reviews.

For many organizations, deploying a WAF offers a practical, scalable, and continuous method of meeting this requirement. Beyond Requirement 6.6, a WAF contributes to broader PCI DSS compliance objectives due to its ability to:

Prevent common attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS)
Address other OWASP Top 10 threats

These functions support secure development practices outlined in Requirements 6.4 and 6.5, while also contributing indirectly to Requirement 1, which governs overall network security.

Other regulatory requirements, such as GDPR, also place strict demands on real-time network visibility. Since WAF tools continuously monitor and block malicious traffic, they directly support those requirements.

The same applies to detailed logging and reporting features.

GDPR demands that organizations log and monitor all activities related to the processing of personal data, meaning WAF logs can track who accessed personal data and when.

How Can WAFs Adapt to Your Needs?

WAFs come in several forms, each designed to fit different operational and security needs.

Broadly, they are categorized by deployment type – software, hardware appliance, or as-a-service and by architecture:

Software WAFs are installed directly on the web server or integrated into the application code. They offer flexibility, lower costs, and are well-suited for environments where resource efficiency and customization are priorities.
Appliance-based WAFs are dedicated hardware devices deployed within the network.
These provide robust processing power, making them ideal for handling high traffic volumes with minimal latency. But, they tend to come with higher upfront costs and ongoing maintenance.
WAF as a Service solutions are managed by third-party providers and require no on-premises hardware. These cloud-based offerings are highly scalable and easy to deploy, often needing only a DNS update. While they are convenient and cost-effective, they inherently offer less customization than their on-site counterparts.

Choose AI-Driven Adaptability with Check Point CloudGuard

CloudGuard WAF is a next-generation, cloud-native Web and API security solution designed to deliver precise, intelligent protection for cloud-based applications.

Powered by contextual AI, it goes beyond traditional signature-based methods to detect and stop both known and unknown threats in real time – making it an ideal choice for organizations seeking proactive, adaptable security.

By identifying whether an API is public or internal, new or legacy, CloudGuard enables you to fine-tune your security posture based on actual usage and risk profiles. This tailored approach ensures you’re not over-securing low-risk services or leaving high-value assets exposed.

With minimal configuration and virtually no false positives, CloudGuard delivers pre-emptive protection against zero-day exploits – letting security evolve as fast as threats.

See how CloudGuard measures against other WAF tools with our webinar.