A web application firewall (WAF) is a type of firewall that applies a set of rules to web applications in order to protect them from malicious attacks. They can help protect against bad bots, threats such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and API abuse.

To ensure adequate protection of web applications, it is advisable to implement the following steps:

1. Analyze traffic and set rules that block suspicious activity
2. Implement an application-aware firewall that can identify content coming in from the internet
3. Monitor web traffic for suspicious activity and block threats
4. Regularly run updates and patch security holes identified