As more and more businesses move their operations online, the need for robust web security solutions continues to grow. One key tool in the fight against cyber attacks is the Web Application Firewall (WAF).

In this blog post, we will explore statistics related to WAFs and their impact on web security.

Key Web Application Firewalls (WAF) Statistics 2023 – MY Choice

  • WAFs are used by a majority of organizations: According to a survey conducted by Cybersecurity Insiders, 81% of organizations are using WAFs to protect their web applications.
  • WAF market size is growing rapidly: The global WAF market is expected to grow from USD 2.37 billion in 2020 to USD 5.48 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.2%.
  • WAFs are effective in blocking attacks: A study by Imperva found that WAFs can block up to 99% of web application attacks.
  • Injection attacks are the most common attack blocked by WAFs: According to a report by Radware, injection attacks (such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting) are the most commonly blocked attacks by WAFs, accounting for 33% of all blocked attacks.
  • False positives can be a challenge: A report by Ponemon Institute found that 38% of organizations using WAFs experienced false positives, which can be time-consuming to investigate and resolve.
  • Cloud-based WAFs are becoming more popular: According to a report by MarketsandMarkets, the cloud-based WAF market is expected to grow at a higher rate than on-premises WAFs, due to the increasing adoption of cloud-based applications.
  • Compliance is a key driver for WAF adoption: Many compliance standards, such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), require the use of WAFs to protect web applications.

WAF Statistics

  1. The global WAF market size was valued at $5.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $9.9 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 12.1% during the forecast period (2021-2026). (Source: MarketsandMarkets)
  2. The WAF market is dominated by the Asia Pacific region, with a market share of 33.9% in 2020. (Source: MarketsandMarkets)
  3. Cloud-based WAF solutions are expected to have the highest growth rate during the forecast period, growing at a CAGR of 16.4%. (Source: MarketsandMarkets)
  4. The banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) industry is expected to have the largest market share of WAF solutions, due to the high volume of financial transactions and sensitive data. (Source: MarketsandMarkets)
  5. In a survey of 600 IT security professionals, 46% said that they had experienced a WAF bypass attack. (Source: Radware)

WAF Facts

  1. WAF solutions can be deployed on-premises, in the cloud, or as a hybrid solution.
  2. WAF solutions use different types of security policies, such as signature-based, anomaly-based, and reputation-based policies.
  3. WAF solutions can block attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and cross-site request forgery (CSRF).
  4. WAF solutions can also provide other security features such as bot management, DDoS protection, and web scraping protection.

Overview of Web Application Firewalls

Before diving into the statistics, let’s first define what a Web Application Firewall is and how it works. A WAF is a type of firewall that is specifically designed to protect web applications. It sits between the web application and the internet, monitoring incoming traffic and blocking any malicious requests.

Benefits of Web Application Firewalls

  1. WAFs can protect against a range of web-based attacks, including SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and file inclusion attacks.
  2. They can help businesses comply with security standards such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
  3. WAFs can also improve website performance by reducing the amount of unwanted traffic.

WAF Usage and Adoption Statistics

  1. The global WAF market was valued at $3.17 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach $7.57 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 11.2% from 2021 to 2028.
  2. The majority of businesses (85%) use a WAF to protect their web applications.
  3. 53% of businesses report that their WAF is either extremely or very effective at blocking attacks.
  4. 79% of businesses have experienced a successful web application attack in the past 12 months.
  5. The average cost of a successful web application attack is $2.7 million.

WAF Performance and Effectiveness Statistics

  1. The average latency introduced by a WAF is around 5 milliseconds.
  2. WAFs have been shown to reduce the number of successful attacks by up to 70%.
  3. In a recent study, 94% of WAF users reported a reduction in web application security incidents.
  4. The false positive rate of WAFs ranges from 1% to 10%.

WAF Deployment Statistics

  1. Cloud-based WAFs are becoming increasingly popular, with 42% of businesses now using a cloud-based solution.
  2. 59% of businesses that use a WAF deploy it on-premises, while 23% use a hybrid approach.
  3. The average time it takes to deploy a WAF is 3-6 months.

WAF Cost and ROI Statistics

  1. The cost of a WAF can range from $10,000 to $100,000 per year, depending on the level of support and features required.
  2. In a recent study, businesses that deployed a WAF reported an average ROI of 284% over a three-year period.
  3. The main factors that impact the ROI of a WAF include the cost of a breach, the cost of compliance, and the cost of WAF deployment.

WAF Features and Functionality Statistics

  1. The most commonly used WAF features include signature-based detection, IP reputation filtering, and content filtering.
  2. 76% of WAF users report that SSL/TLS decryption and inspection is important or very important.
  3. Behavioral-based detection and machine learning are becoming more common features in WAFs.

WAF Trends

  1. WAF solutions are increasingly being integrated with other security tools such as SIEM and SOAR solutions.
  2. WAF solutions are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to improve their detection capabilities.
  3. WAF solutions are increasingly being deployed as a service (WAFaaS) for easier management and scalability.
  4. WAF solutions are increasingly being used in DevOps and CI/CD pipelines to shift security left and enable continuous security testing.

WAF Adoption

  1. In a survey of 1,025 IT security professionals, 51% said that their organization uses a WAF solution. (Source: Cybersecurity Insiders)
  2. In a survey of 600 IT security professionals, 29% said that their organization plans to deploy a WAF solution in the next 12 months. (Source: Radware)
  3. In a survey of 300 IT decision-makers, 68% said that they use a cloud-based WAF solution. (Source: IDG)
StatisticData
Web Application Firewall market growth rate (CAGR) from 2020-202616.92%
Expected WAF market value by 2026$8.06B
Expected WAF market value by 2023 (as of 2021)$5.48B
Increase in blocked attacks with D3’s adaptable playbooks and scalable architecture95%
Top targeted IT asset in attacksWeb servers (50%)
Percentage of attacks detected through signature string, IP address, or URL identification93%
Imperva’s claimed blocking of attacks per day600 million
Imperva’s claimed uptime SLA99.999%
Percentage of breaches involving web applications43%
Percentage of respondents responsible for application security or are application owners53%
Percentage of respondents very satisfied with their WAF effectiveness40%
Primary focus of application securityWeb and mobile applications
Percentage of respondents saying mobile apps interact with their organization’s applications55%
Percentage of attacks on organizations’ application tiers bypassing WAF in past 12 months65%
Top three reasons to invest in a WAFProtection of IT infrastructure, prevention of attacks, and protection of data
Percentage of WAFs both detecting and blocking attacks22%
Percentage of respondents using on-premises hardware appliance as WAF33%
Percentage of respondents using on-premises virtual appliance as WAF20%
Percentage of respondents using cloud-based WAF18%
Availability of statistics in PNG, PDF, XLS format with discount until Jun 30thYes (33% off)

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