Discover Harness WAAP by Traceable, the first unified security innovation from Harness. Purpose-built to secure modern, API-driven applications with deep context, real-time protection, and seamless deployment across any environment.
TL;DR
- Harness WAAP by Traceable is the first unified application runtime security innovation from Harness, combining web application firewall, API security, bot & abuse mitigation, and DDoS protection in one platform.
- Legacy WAAP solutions focus on perimeter defenses and miss shadow APIs, internal traffic, and business logic abuse in modern cloud-native applications.
- Harness WAAP provides context-aware protection by analyzing behavior across users, APIs, and sessions in real-time, not just relying on static signatures or rule-based detection.
- Deployment flexibility includes out-of-band mirroring with eBPF, inline agents in gateways and load balancers, and edge routing for agentless protection across any environment.
- Security teams gain real-time visibility into OWASP Top 10 threats, blocked attacks, shadow API discovery, and sensitive data flows without slowing development velocity.
Introducing Harness WAAP by Traceable: Built for the Way Applications Work Today
Today marks a major milestone in our journey to deliver the industry’s first unified DevSecOps platform—one that empowers engineering and security teams to collaborate seamlessly and deliver software quickly and securely. Following the merger of Harness and Traceable, we’re proud to unveil our first major innovation as a combined company: Harness Web Application and API Protection (WAAP). This solution is purpose-built to secure modern, cloud-native applications and APIs—wherever and however they run.
The merger of Harness and Traceable was driven by a shared vision: to unify security and software delivery within a seamless, AI-powered platform. Harness WAAP is a powerful example of our unified vision in action. It delivers deep, context-aware protection for web applications and APIs—helping you detect threats earlier, respond faster, and enforce consistent, intelligent defenses across your entire stack.
In a world where software changes rapidly and threats evolve just as fast, siloed tools are no longer enough. Together, we are setting a new standard for how teams seamlessly develop, deliver and secure applications, enabling them to embed security at every stage of the software lifecycle—without slowing development.
Why Traditional WAAP Falls Short in a Cloud-Native World
Today’s applications are cloud-native, highly distributed, and powered by APIs that form the backbone of digital interaction. But while apps have evolved, many security solutions haven’t. APIs now account for over 70% of internet traffic, yet traditional WAAP products still focus on perimeter defenses—leaving the core of modern architectures vulnerable.
Attackers have adapted, exploiting APIs, abusing business logic, and evading static defenses. Legacy WAAP solutions were designed for a simpler time—when applications lived behind a static edge, and traffic was easier to inspect and control. But cloud-native applications are anything but static. They scale across multiple environments, communicate through ephemeral APIs, and change frequently as development teams release new features at high velocity.
Traditional WAAPs can’t keep up. They miss shadow APIs, overlook internal traffic, and struggle to detect business logic abuse or human-like bots. They also rely heavily on manual rule tuning and separate runtime protection from development workflows, creating unnecessary friction between security and engineering teams.
As a result, organizations are left with blind spots that attackers are quick to exploit. In today’s API-driven world, reactive, perimeter-based security is no longer enough.
True Defense-in-Depth Starts with Deep Context
Harness WAAP unifies four critical security capabilities in a single, integrated solution:
- Web application protection
- API security
- Bot & abuse mitigation
- DDoS defense
But where it truly stands apart is in the depth of its context and intelligence.
Rather than depending solely on static signatures, Harness WAAP analyzes behavior across users, APIs, and sessions in real-time. It understands how traffic is expected to behave—and intervenes when something deviates from the norm. This enables security teams to detect threats earlier, respond faster, and make decisions with greater confidence.
As environments grow more complex, a unified approach backed by deep context ensures consistent protection across your entire application ecosystem.
How Harness Solves What Others Miss
Built specifically for cloud-native environments, Harness WAAP represents a strategic evolution in application protection for today’s API-first world. It delivers the deep visibility and operational agility that traditional WAAPs lack, ensuring modern applications remain secure as they scale, shift, and grow more complex.
Key capabilities include:
- Comprehensive API discovery from traffic, encrypted flows, and code repositories
- Sensitive data flow mapping and customizable API risk scoring
- Real-time runtime protection with attacker fingerprinting, user/session attribution, and anomaly detection
- Shift-left API testing integrated into your CI/CD pipelines to catch vulnerabilities before production
Real-Time Insights, Actionable Defense - Harness WAAP provides deep, real-time visibility into application and API traffic. Instantly identify and respond to OWASP Top 10 threats, blocked attacks, and the most targeted services—all from a single, context-rich dashboard designed for modern, cloud-native environments.
Harness WAAP is also designed for maximum deployment flexibility—integrating seamlessly with your environment, no matter how it’s built:
- Out-of-Band: Mirror traffic from gateways or load balancers, or use eBPF for deep, passive visibility without requiring code changes
- Inline Agents: Deploy directly in API gateways (e.g., Kong), load balancers (e.g., NGINX), or inside application code using lightweight language agents
- Edge Deployment: Route traffic securely to our POP’s via DNS or deploy Harness WAAP behind a CDN for fully managed, agentless protection
This combination of deep visibility, intelligent runtime protection, and flexible deployment empowers security teams to close visibility gaps, detect threats earlier, and enforce protection wherever modern applications and APIs live.
Secure What Matters, Wherever It Runs
Speed and security shouldn’t be at odds. Harness WAAP eliminates bottlenecks, enabling fast, uninterrupted development—while keeping protection always on.
Whether you’re securing API-driven microservices or hybrid environments across cloud and on-prem, Harness protects what matters most: your data, your users, and your APIs.
In a world where applications constantly evolve, security must too. Harness delivers the visibility, context, and adaptability needed to protect modern, dynamic environments from the inside out.
This launch is the first major innovation since Harness and Traceable joined forces—and it reflects our shared vision for a unified, AI-powered DevSecOps platform. Together, we help teams move faster, stay aligned, and defend what matters most.
From bot attacks and API abuse to DDoS threats, Harness ensures your defenses scale with your apps—without slowing innovation.
Schedule a demo to see how Harness protects your APIs, apps, and users in real-time.
