AWS Shield vs AWS WAF: What are the differences?

Key Differences between AWS Shield and AWS WAF

AWS Shield and AWS WAF are two prominent web application security services offered by Amazon Web Services (AWS). While both services aim to enhance the security of web applications, they differ in their focus and capabilities.

1. Scope of Protection: AWS Shield primarily focuses on protecting web applications from distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. It provides automatic protection against volumetric, state-exhaustion, and other common types of DDoS attacks. On the other hand, AWS WAF is designed to protect web applications from various types of application layer attacks, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and cross-site request forgery (CSRF).

2. Deployment Location: AWS Shield is a global service that automatically protects all AWS resources, including Elastic Load Balancers (ELB), Amazon CloudFront, and Route 53. It does not require any configuration or deployment as it is seamlessly integrated into these services. In contrast, AWS WAF is deployed at the application level and requires configuration on specific resources, such as Amazon API Gateway, Application Load Balancers, or CloudFront distributions.

3. Advanced Threat Intelligence: AWS Shield provides advanced threat intelligence, including near real-time visibility and global threat environment dashboard. It leverages AWS global network scale and analytics to identify and mitigate emerging threats. AWS WAF, however, does not provide advanced threat intelligence as its primary focus is on protecting against known attack patterns through rule-based filtering.

4. Real-time Monitoring and Logging: AWS Shield offers real-time monitoring and extensive logging capabilities to help customers gain insights into ongoing attacks and their impact. It provides detailed metrics and analysis of detected attacks to aid in incident response and forensics. Conversely, AWS WAF provides basic logging and monitoring capabilities on web ACL (Access Control List) level, but does not offer the same level of real-time visibility as AWS Shield.

5. Automation and Managed Rulesets: AWS Shield provides automated DDoS protection without the need for manual intervention. It uses machine learning algorithms to automatically detect and mitigate threats, ensuring that applications remain accessible even during volumetric attacks. In contrast, AWS WAF enables the creation of custom rules and allows the use of managed rule sets for protecting against common attack patterns. However, it requires manual configuration of rules and regular updates to ensure effective protection.

6. Cost Structure: AWS Shield is included for free with AWS resources, such as ELB and CloudFront, providing baseline DDoS protection at no additional cost. However, additional premium tiers are available for enhanced protection and support. AWS WAF, on the other hand, follows a pay-as-you-go pricing model based on the number of web ACLs, rules, and web requests. The cost is determined by the level of traffic and complexity of rules implemented.

In summary, AWS Shield primarily focuses on protecting against DDoS attacks at the network level, providing automated protection and advanced threat intelligence. AWS WAF, on the other hand, focuses on application layer attacks, allowing granular rule-based filtering and custom rule creation. While AWS Shield provides global protection for all AWS resources, AWS WAF needs to be configured at the application level, offering more flexibility but requiring manual configuration.