AWS WAF or AWS Shield?

Purpose

Aid in determining whether AWS WAF or AWS Shield is suitable for your web application security needs.

AWS WAF (Web Application Firewall):
- Protects web applications from common web exploits such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS).
- Allows creation of customizable web security rules to filter malicious traffic.
- Can be integrated with other AWS services.
AWS Shield:
- A managed DDoS protection service.
- Offers always-on detection and automatic mitigations against common DDoS attacks at the network and transport layers.
- AWS Shield Advanced provides additional protection at the application layer when used with AWS WAF.
Multi-layered Defense Strategy: Use both AWS WAF and AWS Shield together for comprehensive protection across different network layers.

Category	AWS WAF	AWS Shield
Primary Purpose	Protects against web application exploits (e.g., SQL injection, XSS)	Protects against DDoS attacks (e.g., SYN or UDP floods)
Layer of Protection	Application layer (L7)	Network, transport, and application layers (L3/L4/L7)
Deployment	Must be explicitly set up	AWS Shield Standard included for all customer accounts
Customization	Highly customizable with custom rules	Options to enable AWS Shield Advanced with automatic mitigation
Managed Rules	Includes AWS Managed Rules and third-party rules	Not applicable
Pricing Model	Pay-as-you-go based on rules and requests	AWS Shield Standard is free; AWS Shield Advanced incurs additional cost
Attack Response Team	Not applicable	Available with AWS Shield Advanced (24/7 DDoS Response Team)
Real-time Monitoring	Yes	Yes
Traffic Inspection	Request-level	Packet-level

AWS WAF is suited for customizable, application-specific web security.
AWS Shield provides broader, automatic DDoS protection, with additional capabilities in AWS Shield Advanced.