Check Point launches AI-powered CloudGuard WAFaaS for cyber defence

Check Point Software has unveiled its latest offering, the CloudGuard Web Application Firewall-as-a-Service (WAFaaS). This new service, which is powered by artificial intelligence, aims to provide organisations with a fully managed solution designed to prevent cyber threats and safeguard web applications from unauthorised access and data breaches.

CloudGuard WAFaaS is touted to prioritise prevention, simplicity, and scalability, thus providing a convenient and cost-effective means to efficiently secure cloud applications and APIs. The technology is expected to relieve security practitioners of the heavy burden typically associated with meticulously setting up and continuously maintaining traditional WAF solutions. This new approach promises to transform what has traditionally been a cumbersome process into a streamlined operation.

Oded Gonda, Vice President of Technology & Innovation at Check Point Software Technologies, commented, "Modern cloud operations need straightforward and effective protection for Web Services and APIs, which CloudGuard WAFaaS provides through essential, automated, and cloud-delivered security. CloudGuard WAFaaS simplifies application security for our customers, providing top-notch threat prevention within a managed solution that can be deployed in under five minutes and effectively prevents zero-day threats."

The new service aims to complement Check Point's prevention-first cloud security strategy. Its features include AI-based threat detection, API discovery, bot prevention, file security, and rate limiting. CloudGuard WAFaaS provides comprehensive application and API protection for multiple cloud and modern architectures, with capabilities such as DDoS prevention and automated certificate management.

Key features of CloudGuard WAFaaS, as part of the Check Point Infinity Platform, include:

• Threat Prevention: Aims to protect against zero-day exploits, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, and bot-driven assaults, ensuring comprehensive security without affecting performance.
• Contextual Analysis: Offers precise detection with virtually no false positives, thereby freeing security teams from tedious firewall maintenance.
• API Security: Works to reduce the risk of unauthorised access and data breaches, leveraging the latest API Discovery feature.
• One-time Set-up: The end-to-end deployment process can be executed within five minutes.

Unlike traditional web application firewalls, which require extensive manual intervention and frequent signature updates, CloudGuard WAFaaS leverages AI to dynamically adapt to new threats. This capability ensures that organisations have a preventative defence mechanism that evolves with the threat landscape without generating time-consuming false positives, explained Brian McHenry, Head of Cloud Security Engineering at Check Point Software.

CloudGuard WAFaaS is immediately available through Check Point's network of global partners.