Building your first AWS WAF web ACL to protect against evolving threats

The article provides a comprehensive guide to building an AWS WAF (Web Application Firewall) web ACL to protect web applications against various security threats. The approach is outlined in three key steps:

• Enable one-click AWS WAF integration with managed rule groups
• Add additional commonly used AWS WAF rules like IP allow/block lists and rate-based rules
• Enable AWS WAF logging for visibility and threat intelligence

The article explores three specific scenarios to demonstrate how to customize WAF protection:

• DDoS Protection: Adding geographic blocking and stricter rate limiting
• Web Application Exploits Protection: Using SQL database and admin protection rule groups
• Bot Mitigation: Implementing Anonymous IP list rules and advanced bot control strategies

Key recommendations include understanding rule order, using terminating and non-terminating actions, and tailoring rules to specific application needs while minimizing impact on legitimate traffic.