Signal Sciences was a next-generation WAF/RASP solution known for its developer-friendly approach.
It was acquired by Fastly in 2020 and is now integrated into Fastly’s Next-Gen WAF product.
What was Signal Sciences?
Signal Sciences offered a hybrid WAF/RASP solution that combined network-level protection with application-layer visibility.
The product was known for:
- Easy deployment through lightweight agents
- Low false positive rates
- DevOps-friendly operations
- Real-time attack visibility
Acquisition by Fastly
In August 2020, Fastly acquired Signal Sciences for $775 million.
The acquisition combined Fastly’s edge cloud platform with Signal Sciences’ application security capabilities.
Current Status
Signal Sciences technology is now available as part of Fastly Next-Gen WAF.
Existing Signal Sciences customers have been migrated to the Fastly platform.
Key Features (Historical)
Agent-Based Architecture
Signal Sciences used lightweight agents deployed alongside applications:
- Minimal performance impact
- Language-agnostic protection
- Container and serverless support
SmartParse Technology
Signal Sciences’ SmartParse analyzed requests in context:
- Understood application logic
- Reduced false positives significantly
- Detected zero-day attacks
Power Rules
Customizable rules for specific protection:
- Business logic protection
- Custom attack signatures
- Rate limiting and blocking
Migration to Fastly
Organizations using Signal Sciences should consider:
- Fastly Next-Gen WAF - Direct successor product
- Integration with Fastly CDN and edge computing
- Enhanced API protection capabilities
Fastly Next-Gen WAF
The successor product offers:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Edge deployment | Protection at Fastly’s edge network |
| API security | GraphQL and REST API protection |
| Bot management | Automated threat detection |
| DDoS protection | Integrated with Fastly’s network |
Acquisition timeline and integration
Fastly announced the Signal Sciences acquisition on August 27, 2020 at a total deal value of $775 million — $200 million in cash and the remainder in Fastly stock. The deal closed in October 2020, and Signal Sciences was rebranded as “Fastly Next-Gen WAF” (NGWAF) during 2021.
The Signal Sciences agent model carried over to NGWAF largely intact. What the Fastly acquisition specifically added was the option to run protection at the edge — requests can now be inspected and blocked in Fastly’s PoPs before reaching origin, which removes the origin-side agent latency that was Signal Sciences’ main trade-off.
Existing Signal Sciences customers on the legacy SaaS console were migrated to the Fastly control plane during 2022. The old Signal Sciences dashboard at dashboard.signalsciences.net now redirects to manage.fastly.com. Customers who want to keep the origin-agent model (without edge inspection) can still deploy NGWAF in its pre-acquisition topology.
Alternatives
For organizations evaluating options similar to Signal Sciences:
- Fastly Next-Gen WAF - Official successor
- Cloudflare WAF - Edge-based protection
- AWS WAF - Cloud-native option
- Contrast Protect - RASP-focused alternative
