A Web Application Firewall provides its protective services by functioning at the same OSI model layer as traditional network firewalls, which is commonly associated with routing and switching.
This statement is incorrect because a Web Application Firewall operates at the application layer (Layer 7) of the OSI model, not the network or transport layers (Layer 3 or Layer 4) where traditional network firewalls function. Traditional network firewalls generally operate at Layer 3 and sometimes at Layer 4, and they manage traffic based on IP addresses and ports. Whereas, a Web Application Firewall is designed to protect web applications by inspecting HTTP and HTTPS traffic to detect and prevent attacks that traditional firewalls cannot, due to the Web Application Firewall's awareness of the content of the web traffic it is filtering.
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What is the OSI model?
What functions do traditional firewalls perform?
What types of attacks do Web Application Firewalls protect against?