Kong Gateway WAF vs MalCare Security

Kong Gateway WAF

Model: Tiered (Plus per-gateway + Enterprise custom)

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MalCare Security

Model: Freemium (Free tier + annual subscriptions)

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Kong Gateway WAF

• Gateway-Embedded WAF

  WAF runs as a plugin inside the Kong Gateway process, inspecting API traffic at the same layer where routing, authentication, and rate limiting occur. No separate WAF appliance or additional proxy hop needed.

• OWASP Top 10 Protection

  Built-in protection against common web application attacks including SQL injection, cross-site scripting, command injection, and path traversal at the API gateway layer.

• Plugin Ecosystem

  Over 100 plugins for security, traffic control, authentication, and observability. WAF works alongside bot detection, IP restriction, CORS, ACL, and rate limiting plugins in a configurable execution chain.

• Third-Party WAF Integrations

  Open plugin architecture supports third-party WAF engines including open-appsec (ML-driven detection) and Wallarm (API security). Teams can choose the WAF engine that fits their threat model.

• Kubernetes-Native Deployment

  Kong Ingress Controller and Kong Kubernetes Operator provide native Kubernetes integration. WAF policies can be managed declaratively through Kubernetes CRDs alongside gateway configuration.

• Hybrid Mode

  Cloud-managed control plane with self-hosted data planes. WAF policies are centrally managed and distributed to data planes running in any environment, including air-gapped networks.

• AI Gateway

  Dedicated AI gateway capabilities including LLM proxy, token-based rate limiting, semantic caching, PII sanitization, prompt guardrails, and MCP server proxy. WAF protects AI endpoints alongside traditional APIs.

• Declarative Configuration

  Gateway and WAF configuration can be managed as code through declarative YAML/JSON, enabling GitOps workflows and CI/CD pipeline integration for security policy changes.

• Advanced Rate Limiting

  Enterprise-grade rate limiting with sliding window counters, consumer groups, and cluster-wide synchronization. Works in conjunction with WAF to prevent both application-layer attacks and abuse.

MalCare Security

• Cloud-Based Malware Scanning

  Scans your site files on MalCare''s servers, detecting malware without consuming your server''s resources.

• One-Click Malware Removal

  Automatically cleans detected malware with a single click, without requiring security expertise.

• Real-Time Firewall

  Endpoint firewall with auto-updated rules based on threat intelligence from the MalCare/BlogVault network.

• Login Protection

  CAPTCHA-based login page protection, brute force prevention, and two-factor authentication.

• Vulnerability Monitoring

  Monitors plugins and themes for known vulnerabilities and alerts when updates are needed.

• Uptime Monitoring

  Checks site availability at regular intervals and sends alerts when downtime is detected (Plus and above).

• White-Label Dashboard

  Agency-friendly dashboard with white-labeling for managing client site security under your brand.