The positive-security alternative to AWS WAF
AWS WAF is the native fit if you live in AWS. It is also rule-based, so it inherits the blind spot every signature WAF has: the well-formed request that should never have been allowed.
Two different models
AWS WAF is a rule-based firewall you assemble from AWS and marketplace managed rule groups plus your own rules, attached to CloudFront, ALB or API Gateway. It matches requests against those rules and does not learn your application's own behavior.
Nemesis Shield is a positive-security platform that spans the whole request path. A one-line, open-source SDK (Sentinel) learns each app, API and LLM's own normal behavior per tenant and blocks the deviations a signature ruleset never sees: IDOR/BOLA, broken auth, business-logic abuse and zero-days. Nemesis Edge adds a per-tenant protective-DNS and optional inline-proxy layer at the network edge, running in front of or on top of your existing CDN, and it all correlates into one view. Free tier, observe-first, about two minutes to protect an app.
Side by side
| AWS WAF | Nemesis Shield | |
|---|---|---|
| Detection model | Managed and custom rules you configure | Positive security: learns and enforces your app's own normal, per tenant |
| IDOR / BOLA and business logic | Not covered by rule matching | Caught as a deviation from the learned baseline |
| Where it runs | In front of CloudFront / ALB / API Gateway | Sentinel SDK in the app, plus Nemesis Edge (protective DNS + inline proxy) at the network layer |
| Network and DNS layer | AWS Shield + CloudFront for DDoS and CDN | Nemesis Edge: per-tenant protective DNS and optional inline proxy, on top of your CDN |
| Getting started | Assemble rule groups, tune, attach | Add one line, learn, enforce. Free tier |
| Lock-in | AWS-native | Runs anywhere: any language, any host, any cloud |
When to choose which
If you are all-in on AWS and want rules attached natively to CloudFront or ALB, AWS WAF is the native choice.
If you want application-logic protection that follows your app across any cloud, learns per tenant, and starts free with one line, that is Nemesis Shield.
Questions
Is Nemesis Shield a AWS WAF alternative?
Yes, and often a complement. AWS WAF and Nemesis Shield solve overlapping but different problems: AWS WAF works at the level it was designed for, and Nemesis adds a positive-security layer that learns your app's own per-tenant behavior and blocks the logic-level attacks (IDOR/BOLA, broken auth, business-logic abuse) that a signature ruleset is not built to see.
Can I run Nemesis Shield together with AWS WAF?
Yes. Nemesis is a one-line SDK inside your app (and an optional edge layer), so it runs happily behind or on top of AWS WAF. Many teams keep AWS WAF for what it is good at and add Nemesis for the application-logic layer.
What does Nemesis catch that a signature WAF does not?
Attacks that are well-formed. A request for an object that is not yours (IDOR/BOLA), a broken-auth flow, or business-logic abuse has no bad pattern to match, so a signature engine passes it. Nemesis flags it because it deviates from the app's learned normal, per tenant.
Compare more: all comparisons · Learn about Nemesis Shield.