In today’s increasingly complex threat landscape, security teams face a constant barrage of application-based exploits and attacks. Protecting web applications requires a multi-layered approach, and two key technologies stand out as powerful allies: Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) and Web Application Firewalls (WAFs). While they address application security from different angles, their combined power offers a robust defense strategy for managing risk.
Think of a WAF as the vigilant border patrol for your web application. Deployed in front of the application, it acts as a gatekeeper, meticulously inspecting incoming HTTP/HTTPS traffic for known malicious patterns and suspicious anomalies. It operates by analyzing request headers, body, and URLs against a set of predefined rules and signatures. This allows the WAF to identify and block common attacks like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and directory traversal attempts before they even reach the application code.
The strength of a WAF lies in its ability to provide an immediate and broad layer of defense. It can effectively filter out a significant volume of malicious traffic, reducing the attack surface and preventing many common exploits. But, a WAF operates outside the app and lacks deep contextual understanding of the application’s internal workings. This means it can struggle with sophisticated or zero-day attacks that don’t match known signatures. It may also generate false positives, blocking legitimate traffic if its rules are too strict or allow vulnerable code to be exploited if the rules are too lax.
This is where RASP steps in as the internal security agent. Unlike the WAF’s perimeter defense, RASP is embedded directly within the application’s runtime environment. It monitors the application’s behavior from the inside, analyzing function calls, data flow, and configurations in real-time. This deep visibility allows RASP to detect and prevent attacks by understanding the context of each request and identifying malicious activity based on how the application is actually being used.
RASP excels at identifying and mitigating attacks that bypass traditional perimeter defenses like SQL injection attempts, even if they are cleverly disguised to evade WAF signatures. RASP prevents exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities, too, by identifying anomalous application behavior that deviates from its expected execution. And, RASP provides granular control over application behavior, preventing actions like unauthorized file access or command execution.
The true power emerges when RASP and WAF work in tandem. The WAF acts as the first line of defense and filtering known threats with negligible impact on the application’s performance overhead. This allows RASP to focus on more sophisticated and targeted attacks that manage to slip through the perimeter.
By combining the proactive perimeter defense of a WAF with the deep, contextual awareness of RASP, security teams can significantly strengthen their application security posture. This layered approach provides comprehensive protection against a wider range of threats, reduces the risk of successful application-based exploits, and ultimately helps manage the ever-evolving challenges of securing modern web applications. The dynamic duo of RASP and WAF is no longer a luxury but a necessity for organizations serious about protecting their valuable digital assets.
Which Flavor of RASP Do You Need?
Not all RASP tools provide true runtime protection. Many solutions on the market rely on generic behavioral monitoring. These tools observe API calls and database queries and block or alert on specific patterns of behavior that match known attack signatures.
Waratek Secure is the only RASP solution that enables security teams to define security policies as code. By operating directly within the Java virtual machine (JVM) , organizations can create highly specific security rules that enforce protection and remediate vulnerable code at runtime without modifying the original application code while the app runs – i.e. no downtime or tuning required. This Software Defined RASP allows:
- Dynamic Policy Enforcement: Security teams can define policies to block SQL injections, remote code executions, and memory exploits dynamically. This includes known and Zero Day exploits.
- Remediation without redeploying: Waratek allows organizations to virtually patch vulnerabilities in Java applications—without modifying source code, rebooting or requiring downtime.
- Zero-Touch Protection: Unlike solutions that require manual tuning, many of Waratek’s rules apply to unknown vulnerabilities with near-zero impact on app performance.
While WAFs remain a foundational tool for securing web applications, Waratek Secure offers advanced capabilities that extend protection deep into the Java runtime. This blend of external and internal security ensures that Java applications are safeguarded against both known and Zero Day threats, from the perimeter to the core.
Embrace the best of both worlds: allow WAFs to guard your gates and let Waratek fortify your Java applications from within, for a truly resilient security posture.
Ready to see Waratek Secure in action? Explore our platform today and discover how Waratek can work with a WAF to transform your organization’s approach to Java security.
About Waratek
Based in Dublin, Ireland, Waratek is the leader in the next significant shift toward active security platforms. Organizations around the world rely on our solutions to prescriptively secure their business-critical applications. Rather than focusing on lagging indicators like network traffic and regex, we fix vulnerabilities in the code while your applications run. Security professionals and developers love our solutions for the low friction and ease of scalability.
