Fintech Security Architecture: AWS WAF Implementation with 7 Managed Rule Sets for OWASP Protection
Implemented defense-in-depth security for Via-Hive fintech platform using AWS WAF with 7 managed rule sets covering SQL injection, XSS, and DDoS protection at CloudFront edge.
Key Results
AWS Managed Rules for OWASP protection
Top 10 vulnerabilities protected
Fully managed by AWS
CloudFront + WAF at edge
What We Were Solving
Via-Hive, a rapidly growing fintech platform, was preparing for their Series B round when their security audit revealed critical gaps in their web application protection. With enterprise clients demanding SOC 2 compliance and handling sensitive financial data, they needed enterprise-grade security without building a dedicated security team.
Critical security challenges:
- OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities including SQL injection and XSS attacks detected in penetration testing
- Public-facing APIs experiencing credential stuffing and brute force attacks from botnets
- DDoS attacks during product launches causing service degradation for legitimate users
- Small team with limited security expertise meant custom WAF rules were not maintainable
- Need for real-time visibility into blocked attacks for compliance reporting and incident response
How We Solved It
We implemented a defense-in-depth security architecture using AWS WAF and CloudFront, providing enterprise-grade protection with minimal operational overhead.
AWS WAF with Managed Rules
Deployed 7 AWS-managed rule sets providing continuously updated protection against emerging threats. These rules are maintained by AWS security researchers, eliminating the need for in-house rule maintenance.
- Core Rule Set blocking SQL injection, XSS, and local file inclusion attacks
- Known Bad Inputs rule set protecting against Log4j, Spring4Shell, and similar CVEs
- IP Reputation list blocking requests from known malicious IP addresses
Edge-Level Protection
- WAF WebACL attached to CloudFront distribution for edge-level filtering before requests reach origin
- AWS Shield Standard providing automatic DDoS protection for volumetric attacks
- Rate limiting rules preventing credential stuffing and API abuse
Security Monitoring & Compliance
Enabled CloudWatch metrics and sampled request logging for security monitoring. Built dashboards showing blocked attack patterns, top attacking IPs, and rule trigger frequencies — essential evidence for SOC 2 audit documentation.
Technologies Used
“AWS WAF managed rules gave us enterprise security without a dedicated security team. The OWASP protection is automatically updated by AWS, and we get alerts when attacks are blocked. It's security we can trust without constant maintenance.”
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