The study includes a number of WAF manufacturers including F5, the specialist in application delivery networking technology for the delivery of web applications, as well as security and network and cloud resources. F5 was also named as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant report for 2017 for web application firewalls (WAF).

Simon McCullough, major channel account manager at F5, says, “This report, which combines a number of players in the global WAF industry, reminds us that, in an attack on applications, traditional network firewalls are not a defence – defence here, requires a separate strategy. The study’s research includes historic data from 2012 to 2016, as well as forecasts until 2022. F5 was very pleased to participate in this invaluable and informative report, in order to play our part in continuing to move this area of cybersecurity forward.”

Anton Jacobsz, managing director at Networks Unlimited, a value-added distributor of F5 in Africa, adds, “F5 takes pride in sharing research and knowledge, having previously sponsored the Ponemon Institute in order to present the 2016 report, ‘Application Security in the Changing Risk Landscape’. The purpose of the Ponemon study was to understand how today’s security risks are affecting application security. In total, 605 IT and IT security practitioners in the United States were surveyed on application security activities. The majority of respondents (57 percent) said that a lack of visibility in the application layer was preventing a strong application security.”

McCullough adds that in the Ponemon report, 63 percent of respondents say attacks at the application layer are harder to detect than at the network layer and 67 percent of respondents say these attacks are more difficult to contain than at the network layer. Key points from this research include the following:

• Lack of visibility in the application layer is the main barrier to achieving a strong application security posture.
• The frequency and severity of attacks on the application layer is considered greater than at the network layer.
• Network security is better funded than application security.
• Accountability for the security of applications is in a state of flux.
   
• Mobile and business applications in the cloud are constantly increasing, which is seen as significantly affecting application security risk.
• Ensuring developers understand secure coding practices could reduce application security risk.
• More testing of applications is needed, with only 14 percent of respondents saying that applications were tested every time the code changes.
• DevOps or continuous integration is believed to improve application security.
• Thirty percent of respondents say their organisations use WAFs as the primary means to secure applications.
• Sixty percent of respondents anticipate that the applications developer will assume more responsibility for the security of applications.

To find out more, please contact Alexa Gerber, F5 product manager at Networks Unlimited: alexa.gerber@nu.co.za.

About F5

F5 makes apps operate faster, smarter, and safer for the world’s largest businesses, service providers, governments, and consumer brands. F5 delivers cloud and security solutions that enable organisations to embrace the application infrastructure they choose without sacrificing speed and control. For more information, go to f5.com.

About Networks Unlimited

Networks Unlimited is a value-added distributor, offering the best and latest solutions within the converged technology, data centre, networking, and security landscapes. The company distributes best-of-breed products, including Arbor Networks, Attivo Networks, Carbon Black, Cofense, Fortinet, F5, Hypergrid, Mellanox, ProLabs, SevOne, Rackmount, RSA, Rubrik, Silver Peak, Tintri and Uplogix. The product portfolio provides solutions from the edge to the data centre and addresses key areas such as cloud networking and integration, WAN optimisation, application performance management, application delivery networking, Wi-Fi-, mobile- and networking security, load balancing, data centre in-a-box, and storage for virtual machines.

Since its formation in 1994, Networks Unlimited has continually adapted to today's progressively competitive and evolving marketplace and has reaped the benefits by being a leading value-added distributor (VAD) within the Sub-Saharan Africa market.

 www.icomm-pr.co.za