WAF and Application Security Terms #
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WAF (Web Application Firewall): A security solution that monitors and filters HTTP traffic between a web application and the Internet, specifically protecting Layer 7.
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Layer 7: The Application Layer of the OSI model, targeted by attacks like SQL Injection and XSS.
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Zero-Day Exploit: A security vulnerability known by attackers before the software vendor is aware of it or releases a patch.
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Virtual Patching: The application of a security rule by a WAF to prevent the exploitation of a known vulnerability without changing the application code itself.
DDoS and Network Terms #
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DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service): A malicious attempt to disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server by overwhelming the target with a flood of Internet traffic from multiple compromised computer systems.
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Layer 7 DDoS: An attack focused on exhausting the resources of the target application (CPU, RAM, database) by sending small, frequent, and legitimate-looking requests.
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Volumetric Attack: A Layer 3/4 DDoS attack designed to overwhelm the network bandwidth of the target.