AWS WAF is a strong AWS-native perimeter control. Silker is for teams that need runtime protection across stacks, including response inspection and app-layer context.
Use AWS WAF for managed perimeter rules on CloudFront, ALB and API Gateway. Use Silker when you need deploy-anywhere runtime security, API behavior checks, prompt injection detection and outbound leak prevention.
AWS WAF is a natural fit when your traffic already enters through CloudFront, Application Load Balancer or API Gateway.
It gives teams AWS-native rule groups, IP sets and managed controls at the perimeter.
Silker runs closer to application behavior. That makes it useful for abuse patterns that look valid at the perimeter but become risky once the app produces a response or exposes an API shape.
It is also useful when the app is not purely AWS-native or when you do not want your security story tied to one cloud edge.
A practical production stack is AWS WAF at the AWS edge and Silker in front of the app service. AWS WAF filters broad perimeter traffic; Silker handles application-specific runtime signals.
| Category | Silker AI | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Primary layer | Runtime proxy or SDK | AWS perimeter services |
| Cloud lock-in | Deploy anywhere | Best inside AWS |
| Outbound data leak checks | Yes | Not the main focus |
| Startup time-to-value | Minutes with Docker or SDK | Depends on AWS traffic architecture |
Not for AWS-native perimeter filtering. Silker complements AWS WAF by adding runtime request and response inspection near the application.
Yes. Silker can run as a Docker reverse proxy or SDK in front of apps on AWS, other clouds, VPS hosts or self-hosted infrastructure.
Silker is a better fit when you care about response inspection, API runtime behavior, prompt injection and deploy-anywhere simplicity more than AWS-native perimeter controls.
Start with the free scan, then deploy Silker as an SDK or Docker reverse proxy.
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