Updated
September 10, 2026
In the 2025 SecureIQLab Cloud WAAP test, Harness WAAP scored the highest overall security efficacy of all 11 vendors — 99.28% vs Akamai's 88.16%, and 98.3% vs 73.5% on API security.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Harness | Akamai |
|---|---|---|
| WAF & Application Protection | ||
| OWASP Top 10 coverage | ||
| OWASP WAF Top 10 efficacy (SecureIQLab 2025) | 100.0% | 99.18% |
| Cloud-scale WAF with self-tuning | Adaptive Security Engine | |
| L7 DDoS protection | Behavioral DDoS Engine | |
| Edge / CDN inspection footprint | One of the largest edge footprints globally | |
| On-prem / hybrid enforcement | App & API Protector Hybrid (AMI, BYOL) | |
| Zero-day / CVE protection catalog | CVE Protection Catalog | |
| Client-side / Magecart / PCI DSS v4 | Client-Side Protection & Compliance | |
| API Security | ||
| Continuous API discovery | ||
| Shadow & zombie API detection | ||
| Sensitive data flow analysis | ||
| GenAI / LLM / MCP server API discovery | ||
| AI asset inventory (MCP servers, tools, prompts, resources as first-class) | Schema, risk scoring, sensitive-data classification, and span-level traces | Discovers MCP-connected API endpoints |
| OWASP API security efficacy (SecureIQLab 2025) | 98.3% | 73.5% |
| Pre-production API test library | Runtime / DAST-oriented | 200+ pre-production tests, CI/CD |
| East-west API monitoring | ||
| Bot & Abuse Protection | ||
| Behavioral bot detection | Bot Score 0–100 | |
| Browser fingerprinting | Browser Impersonation Detection | |
| Credential stuffing / ATO protection | ||
| Advanced threat coverage (SecureIQLab 2025, incl. bot + L7 DoS) | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| AI-agent / good-bot allowlisting | Known bot directory | |
| Bot intelligence scale | 40B bots/day visibility | |
| Architecture & Deployment | ||
| Agentless edge / CDN-routed | Native edge | |
| In-line API gateway / proxy integration | ||
| Kubernetes / eBPF instrumentation | API Security eBPF sensor (OpenShift-certified) | |
| In-app language agents (RASP-class) | Java, Go, Python, Node.js | eBPF host-level sensor, not in-app RASP |
| Traffic mirroring / out-of-band collection | API Security out-of-band | |
| CDN-agnostic / multi-CDN | App & API Protector Hybrid | |
| Unified interface across apps, APIs, and AI assets | API Security is a separate, acquired console | |
| DevOps, AI & Platform | ||
| Full-fidelity application-layer data lake | Full capture, not sampling | Strongest at network / edge layer |
| Terraform / IaC provider | Akamai Terraform provider | |
| Public MCP server for AI dev tools | GA Feb 2026 | |
| AI assistant for security analytics | AI Assistant in web security analytics | |
| Part of a broader DevSecOps platform | Harness platform | Security + CDN portfolio |
| SIEM / SOAR integration | Splunk and other connectors | |
| Independent Validation & Recognition | ||
| 2025 SecureIQLab overall security efficacy | 99.28% (highest of 11 vendors) | 88.16% |
| 2025 SecureIQLab operational efficiency | 95.7% | 91.4% |
| 2025 SecureIQLab false-positive avoidance | 95.7% | 91.4% |
| SecureIQLab Secure-by-Design badge | Earned | Not earned |
| SecureIQLab Secure-by-Default badge | Earned | Not earned |
| CyberRisk Ripple placement | Leader | Leader |
Key Differentiators
Why teams choose Harness WAAP over Akamai
Independently validated #1 in security efficacy
Harness WAAP (tested as Traceable by Harness) scored the highest overall security efficacy of all 11 vendors in the same 2025 SecureIQLab test — 99.28% — alongside 95.7% operational efficiency. On API security it scored 98.3% (vs Akamai's 73.5%), achieved a perfect 1.00 Matthews Correlation Coefficient, and was one of only two vendors to earn both the Secure-by-Design and Secure-by-Default badges. Both vendors are Leaders; Harness leads.
Akamai App & API Protector is a strong, validated WAAP — it placed in the Leader quadrant of the 2025 SecureIQLab Cloud WAAP CyberRisk Validation Report, with 88.16% overall security efficacy and 91.4% operational efficiency. But on API security specifically it scored 73.5%, and it did not earn SecureIQLab's Secure-by-Design or Secure-by-Default badge.
One unified experience across apps, APIs, and AI assets
Harness WAAP unifies apps, APIs, and AI assets in a single WAAP interface and data model. MCP servers, tools, prompts, and resources are treated as first-class AI assets — inventoried with schema, risk scoring, sensitive-data classification, and span-level traces — alongside web apps and APIs in the same console. One operator experience, one data model, one set of policies.
Akamai's protection spans three products of different lineage: the native edge App & API Protector (WAF, L7 DDoS, basic API and bot controls), the native Bot Manager for advanced bot defense, and API Security — the platform Akamai acquired from NoName ($450M, 2024) and Neosec. API Security runs as its own product with its own console and data model, integrated to the edge through connectors. The result is a fragmented operator experience across separate interfaces.
AI-native for the developer workflow
Harness's WAAP Public MCP Server reached general availability in February 2026. It exposes API discovery, inventory, risk, vulnerabilities, remediation, and runtime protection data to AI tools like Cursor, VS Code, and Claude Desktop — bringing API security context into the same AI agents and copilots developers already use, and lets teams blend it with internal sources in custom AI workflows.
Akamai introduced an AI Assistant in 2024 that lets users query security analytics — attack data, IPs, threat scores — through a chat interface inside the Akamai Control Center. It is bound to the dashboard.
Full-fidelity, application-layer detection
Harness WAAP is powered by a data lake built for application-layer context. Detection is based on complete application signals — full traffic capture, user sessions, and API call chains — not just network traffic, metadata, or samples. Traceable language agents (Java, Go, Python, Node.js) provide RASP-class, in-application visibility. This full-fidelity model is what drove the security-efficacy and API-security lead in the SecureIQLab results.
Akamai's detection is strongest at the network and edge layer, where its global footprint is a genuine advantage. Its API Security sensor (acquired with NoName) is an eBPF host-level component that captures traffic for analysis by remote engines.
Decision Guide
Akamai is good for
- You are already heavily standardized on Akamai CDN and want WAAP layered onto the same edge with minimal architectural change
- You need the broadest possible edge inspection footprint with proven L7 DDoS scale (Prolexic heritage and Behavioral DDoS Engine)
- You need the broadest pre-production API test library (200+ tests) baked into CI/CD before deployment
- Client-side / Magecart protection and PCI DSS v4 client-side compliance are hard requirements
- Your security team values Akamai's long-standing vertical references in financial services, retail, media, and public sector
Harness is best for
- You want the independently top-rated WAAP for overall security efficacy (99.28%) and API security (98.3%) in the 2025 SecureIQLab test
- You want apps, APIs, and AI assets unified in a single WAAP interface and data model, rather than an edge WAF plus a separately-acquired API security console
- You want first-class AI asset coverage — MCP servers, tools, prompts, and resources inventoried with schema, risk scoring, and span-level traces
- You want AI-driven security context inside developer tools like Cursor, VS Code, and Claude Desktop through a native MCP server
- You want full-fidelity, application-layer detection (full traffic capture and RASP-class language agents) rather than network/edge-centric analysis
Summary
Harness WAAP (Traceable) scored the highest overall security efficacy of all 11 vendors in the 2025 SecureIQLab Cloud WAAP test — 99.28% — and was one of only two to earn both Secure-by-Design and Secure-by-Default.
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