AWS WAF vs. AWS Network Firewall

AWS WAF functions as a protective web application firewall aimed at defending your web applications or APIs against common web-based threats that could endanger their availability, security, or lead to excessive resource consumption. The service empowers you to control how traffic interacts with your applications by enabling the creation of security rules that can block standard attack vectors, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting, alongside custom rules to filter out specific traffic patterns that you may identify. To streamline the setup process, AWS provides Managed Rules for AWS WAF, which consist of pre-configured rule sets curated by AWS or third-party vendors available in the AWS Marketplace. These Managed Rules focus on addressing vulnerabilities, including those highlighted in the OWASP Top 10 security risks, and are regularly updated to respond to emerging threats. Furthermore, AWS WAF includes a robust API that allows for the efficient automation of the creation, deployment, and management of security rules. Notably, AWS WAF operates under a pay-as-you-go pricing structure, meaning you incur charges based on the number of rules you set up and the volume of web requests your application handles. This adaptable pricing strategy gives you the ability to customize your security measures in accordance with your application’s unique traffic and complexities, ensuring that you can effectively protect your digital assets. This comprehensive approach to web security makes AWS WAF an essential tool for modern web applications.

AWS Network Firewall enables the establishment of intricate firewall rules that provide granular control over network traffic while facilitating the implementation of security protocols across your VPCs. It can scale automatically to effectively protect your managed infrastructure. Moreover, the service allows for the customization of workload protection through a flexible engine that supports the creation of various personalized rules. You can manage security policies from a central point across all accounts and VPCs, guaranteeing that essential policies are applied automatically to any new accounts that are created. By leveraging AWS Network Firewall, you can effectively define critical firewall rules to oversee network traffic. Additionally, this service works in harmony with AWS Firewall Manager, allowing you to develop policies based on Network Firewall rules and uniformly enforce them across your virtual private clouds (VPCs) and accounts. You also have the ability to monitor traffic flows with a range of features, including the inspection of inbound encrypted traffic, stateful inspection, and protocol detection, among others, ensuring a robust defense. This comprehensive network security strategy not only protects your infrastructure but also adapts to evolving threats, providing peace of mind as your network grows and changes.