Chapter 1: Setting Up the BIG-IP System
- Introducing the BIG-IP System
- Initially Setting Up the BIG-IP System
- Archiving the BIG-IP System Configuration
- Leveraging F5 Support Resources and Tools
Chapter 2: Traffic Processing with BIG-IP
- Identifying BIG-IP Traffic Processing Objects
- Understanding Network Packet Flow
- Understanding Profiles
- Overview of Local Traffic Policies and ASM
Chapter 3: Web Application Concepts
- Overview of Web Application Request Processing
- Web Application are vulnerable even with SSL
- Layer 7 Protection with Web Application Firewalls
- Examining HTTP and Web Application Components
- Overview of Web Communication Elements
- Parsing URLs
- Overview of the HTTP Request Structure
- HTTP Methods ASM Accepts by Default
- Comparing POST with GET
- Risks Within Other Methods
- HTTP Request Components: Headers
- Examining HTTP Responses
- User Input Forms: Free Text Input
- How ASM Parses File Types, URLs, and Parameters
- Using the Fiddler HTTP Proxy Tool
Chapter 4: Common Web Application Vulnerabilities
- Common Exploits Against Web Applications
Chapter 5: Security Policy Deployment
- Comparing Positive and Negative Security Models
- Approaching Deployment: Positive or Negative Security?
- The Deployment Wizard: How will Policy Builder Be Used?
- The Deployment Wizard Workflow
- Reviewing Requests
- Security Checks Offered by Rapid Deployment
- Response Checks Using Data Guard
Chapter 6: Policy Tuning and Violations
- Post-Configuration Traffic Processing
- Defining False Positives
- How Violations are Categorized
- Violation Rating: A Threat Scale
- Enforcement Settings & Staging: Global Policy Control
- Defining Signature Staging
- Defining the Enforcement Readiness Period
- Defining Learning
- Violations and Learning Suggestions
- Defining Learning Suggestions
- Choosing a Learning Mode: Automatic or Manual
- Defining the Learn, Alarm and Block settings
- Interpreting the Enforcement Readiness Summary
- Configuring the Blocking Response Page
Chapter 7: Attack Signatures
- Defining Attack Signatures
- Creating User-Defined Attack Signatures
- Defining Attack Signature Sets
- Defining Attack Signature Pools
- Updating Attack Signatures
- Understanding Attack Signatures and Staging
Chapter 8: Positive Security Policy Building
- Defining Security Policy Components
- Choosing the Learning Scheme
- How To Learn: Add All Entities
- Staging and Entities: The Entity Lifecycle
- How to Learn: Never (Wildcard Only)
- How to Learn: Selective
- Learning Differentiation: Real Threats or False Positives
Chapter 9: Cookies and Other Headers
- ASM Cookies: What to Enforce
- Understanding Allowed and Enforced Cookies
- Configuring Security Processing on HTTP headers
Chapter 10: Reporting and Logging
- Reporting: Build Your Own View
- Brute Force and Web Scraping Statistics
- PCI Compliance: PCI-DSS 3.0
- Viewing DoS Reports
- Generating a Security Events Report
- Local Logging Facilities and Destinations
- Viewing Current Log Files via Configuration Utility
- Logging Profile: Build What You Need
Chapter 11: User Roles and Policy Modification
- Defining User Roles
- Allowed Object References across Partitions
- Partitions Facilitate Administrative Agility
- Comparing Security Policies
- Merging Security Policies
- Editing and Exporting Security Policies
- Restoring with Policy History
- Examples of ASM Deployment Types
- ConfigSync and ASM Security Data
- ASMQKVIEW: Provide to F5 Support for Troubleshooting
Chapter 12: Lab Project 1
Chapter 13: Advanced Parameter Handling
- Defining Parameter Types
- Defining Static Parameters
- Defining Dynamic Parameters
- Defining Dynamic Parameter Extraction Properties
- Defining Parameter Levels
- Other Parameter Considerations
Chapter 14: Application-Ready Templates
- Templates: Pre-Configured Baseline Security
Chapter 15: Automatic Policy Building
- Overview of Automatic Policy Building
- Choosing a Policy Type
- Defining Trusted and Untrusted IP Addresses
- Defining the Learning Score
Chapter 16: Web Application Vulnerability Scanners
- Integrating ASM with Vulnerability Scanners
- Will Scan be Used for a New or Existing Policy?
- Importing vulnerabilities
- Resolving Vulnerabilities
- Using the Generic XML Scanner XSD file
Chapter 17: Login Enforcement & Session Tracking
- Defining a Login URL
- Defining Session Tracking
- Configuring Violation Detection Actions
- Session Hijacking Mitigation
- Fingerprinting Overview
Chapter 18: Brute Force and Web Scraping Mitigation
- Defining Anomalies
- Mitigating Brute Force Attacks via Login Page
- Defining Session-Based Brute Force Protection
- Defining Dynamic Brute Force Protection
- Defining the Prevention Policy
- Mitigating Web Scraping
- Defining Geolocation Enforcement
- Configuring IP Address Exceptions
Chapter 19: Layer 7 DoS mitigation
- Defining Denial of Service Attacks
- Defining DoS Profile General Settings
- Defining TPS-based DoS Protection
- Defining Operation Mode
- Defining Mitigation Methods
- Defining Stress-Based Detection
- Defining Proactive Bot Defense
- Using Bot Signatures
Chapter 20: ASM and iRules
- Identifying iRule Components
- Defining ASM iRule Commands
- Triggering iRules with Events
- Defining ASM iRule Events
- Using ASM iRule Event Modes
Chapter 21: XML and Web Services
- Defining XML
- Defining Web Services
- Using Web Services Security
- Defining the XML Profile
- XML Attack Signatures
Chapter 22: Web 2.0 Support: JSON Profiles
- Defining Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
- Defining JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)
- Configuring a JSON profile
Chapter 23: Review and Final Labs
Chapter 24: Additional Training and Certification
- Getting Started Series Web-Based Training
- F5 Instructor Led Training Curriculum
- F5 Professional Certification Program
Appendix A (Helpful Hints)
Appendix B (Rapid Deployment Methodology)
Appendix C (Additional Topics)
Appendix D (L1 and L2 Support Checklist)
This course is intended for security and network administrators who will be responsible for the installation, deployment, tuning, and day-to-day maintenance of the Application Security Manager.
There are no required F5 technology-specific prerequisites for this course.
However, completing one the following before attending would be very helpful for students unfamiliar with BIG-IP:
- Administering BIG-IP instructor-led course
- F5 Certified BIG-IP Administrator
The following general network technology knowledge and experience are recommended before attending any F5 Global Training Services instructor-led course:
- OSI model encapsulation
- Routing and switching
- Ethernet and ARP
- TCP/IP concepts
- IP addressing and subnetting
- NAT and private IP addressing
- Default gateway
- Network firewalls
- LAN vs. WAN
After completing this course, students will learn:
- Setting up the BIG-IP system
- Traffic processing with BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)
- Web application concepts
- Web application vulnerabilities
- Security policy deployment
- Security policy tuning
- Attack signatures
- Positive security building
- Securing cookies and other headers
- Reporting and logging
- User roles
- Policy modification, merging, and exporting
- Advanced parameter handling
- Using application templates
- Using Automatic Policy Builder
- Integrating with web vulnerability scanners
- Login enforcement and session tracking
- Web scraping detection and mitigation
- Layer 7 DoS protection
- ASM and iRules
- XML and web services support
- AJAX and JSON support