What are some of the pre-configured rules that come with Cloud Armor?

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Cloud Armor is a robust security offering provided by Google Cloud Platform (GCP) that helps protect web applications and services from various types of attacks. It offers a wide range of pre-configured rules that can be utilized to enhance the security posture of your applications. In this response, we will discuss some of the pre-configured rules that come with Cloud Armor and their significance in safeguarding your infrastructure.

1. IP-based allowlist and denylist:
Cloud Armor allows you to define IP-based allowlists and denylists to control access to your applications. With this rule, you can specify a list of IP addresses or IP ranges that are either allowed or denied access to your resources. This rule is particularly useful in mitigating Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks by blocking traffic from suspicious or malicious sources.

Example:
To allow access only from a specific set of IP addresses, you can create an IP-based allowlist rule that includes those addresses. Any request originating from an IP address not included in the allowlist will be blocked.

2. Geolocation-based access control:
Cloud Armor enables you to restrict access to your applications based on geolocation. This rule allows you to define a specific set of countries or regions from where requests are allowed or denied. By leveraging this rule, you can mitigate attacks originating from specific geographical locations.

Example:
If your application is targeted by attackers from a particular country, you can create a geolocation-based denylist rule to block requests originating from that country. This helps protect your application from malicious activities originating from that specific region.

3. Protocol-based rules:
Cloud Armor supports protocol-based rules that allow you to define access control policies based on specific protocols, such as TCP, UDP, or ICMP. These rules provide granular control over the types of traffic allowed or denied to your applications.

Example:
You can create a protocol-based rule to allow only HTTP and HTTPS traffic to reach your web application, while blocking other protocols like FTP or SSH. This ensures that only legitimate traffic is allowed to access your application.

4. Request header-based rules:
Cloud Armor allows you to define rules based on request headers. This feature enables you to block or allow requests based on specific header values, such as User-Agent or Referer. By leveraging this rule, you can protect your applications from attacks that exploit vulnerabilities in specific headers.

Example:
If your application is being targeted by attackers using a specific User-Agent header associated with malicious activities, you can create a request header-based denylist rule to block requests with that User-Agent header.

5. URL mapping-based rules:
Cloud Armor supports URL mapping-based rules, which allow you to define access control policies based on specific URLs or URL patterns. This rule enables you to apply different security policies to different parts of your application, based on the URL being accessed.

Example:
You can create a URL mapping-based rule to apply stricter security measures to sensitive parts of your application, such as the login page or administrative sections. This ensures that critical areas of your application are protected with additional security measures.

These are just a few examples of the pre-configured rules available in Cloud Armor. By leveraging these rules, you can enhance the security of your applications and protect them from various types of attacks. It is important to carefully configure and monitor these rules to ensure optimal security for your infrastructure.

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