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App & API Protector

One-stop, zero-compromise security for websites, applications, and APIs

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App & API Protector

One-stop, zero-compromise security for websites, applications, and APIs

Watch video (2:00)
Free trial

New: Managed Service for API Security. 24/7 API protection from Akamai experts.

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Broad application security and API protections in one solution

Be confident in your security foundation with Akamai’s web application firewall (WAF) solution that quickly identifies vulnerabilities and mitigates threats across the most complicated web and API architectures. Extend your WAF protections off the Akamai edge and into hybrid cloud and multi-CDN environments — or leverage the power of the edge with bot, API, and advanced DDoS protections all in a single solution.

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Stronger application and API security with less effort

Tailor defenses to the latest threats

Dynamically adapt protections to evolving attacks — including those targeting the OWASP lists & sophisticated DDoS attacks.

Automate updates and self-tune to simplify security

Minimize application security and development effort with Akamai-managed updates and machine learning–powered self-tuning.

Empower developers and security teams

Operationalize application security with a choice of popular DevOps tools and deploy within a CI/CD pipeline.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

“Akamai has been a game changer for our organisation's web and application delivery as well as security protection.”

Product Owner, CDN services, Education1

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How App & API Protector works

Learn

A core technology, Adaptive Security Engine, learns attack patterns and adapts to future cybersecurity threats.

Defend

Every request is inspected in real time to defend against DDoS, web application and API attacks, and malicious bots.

Strengthen

Automated defense from the Behavioral DDoS Engine protects your org from sophisticated volumetric attacks.

Simplify

Auto-updating, self-tuning, and API discovery lower the effort of identifying vulnerabilities, protecting sensitive data.

Forrester names Akamai a WAF Leader

Akamai receives above-average customer feedback and gets highest score possible in vision, roadmap, and pricing flexibility and transparency criteria.

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Features

  • Adaptive protections automatically push the latest app and API defenses, including zero-days and CVE protections
  • All-in-one solution includes our WAF plus L7 DDoS defense, API discovery, sensitive data protection, and bot controls
  • Protect against ransomware, outages, data loss, and more with malware security at the edge

 

  • DevOps integration with a simple GUI or with our Terraform provider, APIs, or the Akamai CLI

  • Extend security off the Akamai platform with App & API Protector Hybrid for on-prem, hybrid cloud, and multi-CDN environments

  • Quick onboarding and simplified operations provide comprehensive security for apps and APIs without much effort

  • AI-powered dashboards proactively communicate anomaly and threat detection as well as advise on actionable improvements

Malware protection module now available with App & API Protector

Malware protection scans files at the edge to prevent attackers from reaching the origin.

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Akamai SOTI: State of Apps and API Security 2025

State of Apps and API Security 2025: How AI Is Shifting the Digital Terrain

AI is introducing new vulnerabilities to businesses and new tools for attackers as threats grow, new Akamai research finds.

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Customer Stories

Finastra logo

Finastra

Fintech leader Finastra protects open finance apps and APIs with Akamai

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SMU

SMU turns to Akamai App & API Protector and Dynamic Site Accelerator for a secure, fast, and reliable online shopping experience.

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Grupo Xcaret

Grupo Xcaret

Grupo Xcaret relies on Akamai for app and API protection, bot mitigation, and fast and seamless site delivery.

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Application Security Use Cases

Learn how Akamai simplifies unified security, stops evolving threats, and ensures uptime — without adding complexity.

Stop evolving attacks

Stop evolving attacks with smarter security

Most WAFs struggle to keep pace with evolving threats, leaving applications and APIs vulnerable to zero-day attacks, API abuse, and sophisticated DDoS or bot-driven fraud. Many security teams must manually update rules, tune policies, and add third-party tools for protection — slowing response times and increasing false positives.

Akamai Adaptive Security Engine delivers real-time, automated protection across edge, cloud, and hybrid environments. It continuously updates security policies based on global threat intelligence, defending against OWASP Top 10 threats, CVEs, and API exploits. App & API Protector Hybrid extends WAF protections beyond the CDN, securing north-south and east-west traffic for a unified security posture.

Streamline solutions

Consolidate point solutions and reduce complexity

Security teams often manage multiple vendors, disconnected security tools, and complex policy configurations just to achieve basic protection. Layering separate WAFs, API gateways, bot defenses, and DDoS tools adds cost and operational overhead while creating blind spots that attackers exploit.

Akamai’s all-in-one approach consolidates WAF, API security, bot management, and DDoS protection in a single solution. App & API Protector defends at the edge, instantly blocking large-scale attacks, while App & API Protector Hybrid extends WAF defense to multicloud and on-prem environments — ensuring consistent policies across distributed architectures. With automated updates and machine learning-driven detection, teams spend less time managing security and more time innovating.

Ensure availability and performance

Ensure availability and performance without compromise

Many WAFs rely on static rate controls and rigid traffic rules, leading to false positives, application slowdowns, and security gaps during high-traffic events or DDoS attacks. Organizations often need separate DDoS tools, adding complexity and cost.

Akamai’s edge-first approach stops threats before they reach your infrastructure — eliminating the need for extra rate-limiting tools. App & API Protector automatically detects and mitigates attacks in real time, across apps and APIs for OWASP threat vectors as well as bot and DDoS attacks. With intelligent threat scoring and self-tuning protections, security adapts dynamically, ensuring maximum uptime and seamless digital experiences. Plus, add agility by taking Akamai’s WAF protections off-edge and into on-prem, hybrid cloud, and multi-CDN environments for a simplified and unified security stance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

An open API is available for automating App & API Protector configuration changes in a CI/CD pipeline. A CLI and Terraform provider are also available for making API calls, or you can call the API directly. Documentation for the open APIs, CLI, and Terraform provider are publicly available; there is also a public Postman collection available for testing the API. This agile security enables security teams to focus on pen testing and threat modeling to further secure applications in the development process.

By employing continuous security testing tools and real-time monitoring automation, App & API Protector identifies and mitigates security risks, such as zero-days, CVEs, and OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities like SQL injection and cross-site scripting. It ensures that security measures are in place throughout the development process and the application lifecycle to address many types of application security. App & API Protector also remediates the security threats listed in the OWASP API Top 10 vulnerabilities.

App & API Protector offers connectors for Splunk and other providers, as well as a SIEM integration module for better attack identification, detection, and forensic analysis.

App & API Protector is an easy-to-use solution that saves security team time. But for organizations that need more, App & API Protector has optional managed and professional services that can scale and change with your business. Security Operations Command Center Advanced Support Service provides an enhanced high-touch and personalized customer experience. Akamai also offers three support level options for you to choose from to suit your business needs: (1) fully managed, (2) co-managed; Akamai assists you, and (3) self-service.

Akamai architects its products with the understanding that our customers cannot have any latency — their business depends on it. Like all Akamai’s products, App & API Protector is highly efficient, and the impact to your app/site performance should not be perceptible to users.

Layer 7 DDoS attacks target the application layer, aiming to disrupt the user interface or services like HTTP, HTTPS, DNS, and SMTP. These attacks are particularly insidious because they exploit the application layer, often bypassing traditional security measures. App & API Protector is powered by the new Behavioral DDoS Engine with a full suite of L7 capabilities to automatically defend against sophisticated DDoS attacks.

Resources

Simplify Your Web Application Security

Today’s complex applications give cybercriminals countless ways to attack. Here’s why the best defense is simplicity.

Read white paper

WAF to WAAP: Holistic App & API Security

Evolve your protections beyond traditional WAF. Learn why the market is evolving towards WAAP.

Read white paper

Ultimate WAF Evaluation Checklist

A comprehensive checklist to evaluate WAF and WAAP providers, ensuring the solution meets your security, performance, financial, and operational needs.

Read checklist
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Free trial: Try App & API Protector for 30 days

Discover the benefits of App & API Protector for yourself:

  • Adapt protections to evolving attacks

  • Simplify security with automated updates and self-tuning

  • Empower your developers and security teams


Set up your 30-day free trial:

  1. Submit form

  2. Confirm your email

  3. Log in and set up your instance of App & API Protector

Terms and restrictions apply.

 

Thank you for requesting an App & API Protector trial! You’ll receive an email containing a request for you to verify your email address. Once verified, you’ll receive your login credentials via email to begin your trial configuration.

1GARTNER® is a registered trademark and service mark, and PEER INSIGHTS™  is a registered trademark , of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. The GARTNER PEER INSIGHTS CUSTOMERS' CHOICE badge is a trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Please note that this report was previously known as Gartner Peer Insights 'Voice of the Customer': Web Application Firewalls in 2020. Gartner Peer Insights content consists of the opinions of individual end users based on their own experiences, and should not be construed as statements of fact, nor do they represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in this content nor makes any warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this content, about its accuracy or completeness, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

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