Securing API Gateway With AWS Waf

Securing Api Gateway With Aws Waf

Overview

Cybersecurity skill for securing api gateway with aws waf. Follows industry best practices and security standards.

When to Use

Trigger phrases:

• "securing api gateway with aws waf"

• "Securing API Gateway endpoints with AWS WAF by configuring managed rule groups f"

• When deploying API Gateway endpoints that require protection against common web attacks

• When implementing rate limiting and throttling to prevent API abuse and DDoS attacks

• When building bot detection and mitigation for API endpoints exposed to the internet

• When compliance requires WAF protection for all public-facing API endpoints

• When customizing access controls based on IP reputation, geolocation, or request patterns

Do not use for network-level DDoS protection (use AWS Shield), for application logic vulnerabilities (use SAST/DAST tools), or for internal API security between microservices (use service mesh authentication and authorization).

When NOT to Use

• When you lack proper authorization for testing
• For production systems without change management
• When the task requires legal or compliance expertise beyond technical scope

Prerequisites

• AWS API Gateway (REST or HTTP API) deployed with public endpoints
• IAM permissions for wafv2:* and apigateway:* operations
• CloudWatch and S3 or Kinesis Firehose configured for WAF logging
• Understanding of the API's expected traffic patterns for rate limiting configuration
• IP reputation lists or threat intelligence feeds for custom IP blocking

Workflow

# Example: IOC detection
import re

IOC_PATTERNS = {
    "ip": r"\b(?:\d{1,3}\.){3}\d{1,3}\b",
    "domain": r"\b[a-z0-9-]+\.[a-z]{2,}\b",
    "hash_md5": r"\b[a-f0-9]{32}\b",
    "hash_sha256": r"\b[a-f0-9]{64}\b",
}

def extract_iocs(text: str) -> dict:
    return {k: re.findall(v, text) for k, v in IOC_PATTERNS.items()}

1. Define Objectives — Clarify the goals and scope for api gateway.
2. Gather Resources — Collect tools, data, and access needed for api gateway.
3. Execute Process — Carry out api gateway operations methodically.
4. Verify Quality — Check results against acceptance criteria.
5. Document Outcomes — Record findings, decisions, and next steps.

Tools

• aws waf — Primary tool for this skill
• Analysis Platform — Data processing and visualization
• Collaboration Tools — Team coordination and knowledge sharing

Process

1. Design — Define interface, identify patterns, plan implementation
2. Implement — Write code following existing conventions, add tests
3. Verify — Run tests, check integration, validate behavior

Verification

• All api gateway procedures executed completely and documented
• Findings validated against multiple data sources
• False positives identified and filtered
• Results documented with evidence and timestamps
• Recommendations provided with risk-based prioritization

Anti-Rationalization Table