AWS WAF vs Cilium: What are the differences?

1. Deployment Environment: AWS WAF is primarily used to protect web applications hosted on AWS, whereas Cilium is a networking plugin that focuses on securing containerized workloads in Kubernetes environments. 2. Layer of Operation: AWS WAF operates at the application layer (Layer 7) of the OSI model to monitor and control HTTP and HTTPS traffic, while Cilium focuses on providing network and application layer security for containerized workloads at Layer 3/4. 3. Functionality: AWS WAF provides security by filtering and monitoring the HTTP/HTTPS traffic based on predefined rules, whereas Cilium offers features like network visibility, network security policies, and load balancing for Kubernetes clusters. 4. Protocol Support: AWS WAF primarily supports HTTP and HTTPS protocols for security and monitoring, while Cilium supports a wider range of network protocols for securing Kubernetes workloads. 5. Scalability: AWS WAF is suitable for scaling web application protection on AWS with managed rules, while Cilium is designed to scale with the dynamic nature of containerized environments and support large Kubernetes clusters efficiently. 6. Flexibility: AWS WAF offers flexibility in creating custom rules and integrating with AWS services, while Cilium provides flexibility through its eBPF-based data path for defining custom network policies and security mechanisms.

In Summary, AWS WAF is tailored for protecting web applications on AWS at the application layer, while Cilium focuses on securing containerized workloads in Kubernetes environments with a broader range of network and application layer security features.