Expert: App firewall can counter DDoS attacks

Enterprises that rely on web applications should look to application firewalls for better protection, particularly against distributed denial-of-service attacks, a security expert has warned.

Vladimir Yordanov, director of technology at F5 Networks, explained that with 80 percent of attacks hitting web apps these days, traditional protection such as the conventional perimeter system firewall offers very little protection. Such systems are the reason why distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks are successfully executed to compromise websites and payment systems, he added.

"Traditional systems, such as intrusion prevention or intrusion detection systems, cannot block effective requests as these are not easily detected. The attacks targeting coding or browser flaws are usually let through, and it is the application firewall's job to weed out bad traffic," Yordanov noted during an interview with ZDNet UK's sister site ZDNet Asia on Monday.

For more on this ZDNet UK-selected story, see App firewall helps counter DDoS threats on ZDNet Asia.