Radware Announces Another DDoS Industry First - Encrypted Attack Blocking Without SSL Decryption
Rhea-AI Summary
Radware (NASDAQ: RDWR) launched a cloud-based Web DDoS Protection for Encrypted Traffic on March 3, 2026 that blocks sophisticated layer‑7 encrypted attacks without requiring SSL certificate sharing or traffic decryption.
The AI‑powered service uses behavioral analysis and machine learning to auto‑mitigate attacks in real time and supports cloud, on‑premises, hybrid and Kubernetes deployments.
Positive
- Cloud service blocks layer‑7 encrypted DDoS without SSL certificate sharing
- AI‑driven mitigation with automated behavioral baselining and dynamic rules
- Flexible deployment: cloud, on‑premises, hybrid and Kubernetes options
Negative
- Optional SSL decryption may limit deep payload inspection for some threat types
- Cloud model relies on adoption choices; customers retaining certificates may face integration tradeoffs
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
RDWR gained 1.9% while key software/security peers showed mixed but mostly positive moves (e.g., RPD +2.45%, ATEN +4.04%). The momentum scanner did not flag a coordinated sector move.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 19 | Threat report release | Negative | -4.7% | 2026 Global Threat Report showed sharp YoY increases in cyberattacks. |
| Feb 13 | Share repurchase plan | Positive | +5.8% | Board authorized new <b>$80M</b> share repurchase plan through March 2027. |
| Feb 11 | Earnings results | Positive | +5.4% | Reported record Q4 and FY2025 revenue, ARR growth, and higher EPS. |
| Feb 10 | Investor Day announcement | Positive | +3.3% | Announced Investor Day 2026 in NYC with executive presentations and webcast. |
| Feb 03 | AI product launch | Positive | -1.6% | Launched Agentic AI Protection to secure autonomous AI agents from new threats. |
Recent clearly positive corporate actions (record earnings, buyback, Investor Day) have typically seen aligned positive price reactions, while one AI security product launch drew a mild negative divergence.
Over recent months, Radware has highlighted strengthening fundamentals and a growing security portfolio. Record Q4 and FY2025 results on Feb 11, 2026 showed higher revenue and EPS, followed by a new $80M buyback plan on Feb 13 and an Investor Day announcement. The 2026 Global Threat Report on Feb 19 underscored rising DDoS and application attack volumes. Earlier, an Agentic AI protection launch on Feb 3 saw a small negative reaction. Today’s encrypted Web DDoS update fits the pattern of ongoing cloud and AI-driven security innovation.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement expands Radware’s Web DDoS capabilities to protect encrypted traffic without requiring SSL certificate sharing or decryption, targeting a growing share of web communications. It follows record Q4 and FY2025 results and a new $80M repurchase plan, underscoring a focus on cloud and AI-driven security. Investors may track uptake of the cloud-based and Kubernetes-native deployment options, competitive responses in encrypted DDoS mitigation, and how these offerings contribute to future revenue and ARR growth.
Key Terms
ddos technical
ssl certificate technical
ssl decryption technical
layer 7 technical
behavioral analysis technical
machine learning models technical
kubernetes technical
waap technical
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
MAHWAH, N.J., March 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Radware® (NASDAQ: RDWR), a global leader in application security and delivery solutions for multi-cloud environments, today announced the availability of its Web DDoS Protection for Encrypted Traffic as a cloud-based service that does not require SSL certificate sharing or traffic decryption. With this release, Radware believes it is the only security provider to offer a cloud-based solution designed to block sophisticated, encrypted layer 7 DDoS attacks in the cloud without the need for a certificate, thus eliminating a common operational and compliance concern associated with encrypted traffic inspection.
As encrypted traffic now represents the majority of web communications, organizations often rely on SSL decryption to inspect traffic for layer 7 threats. While effective, this approach can introduce privacy, regulatory, and key management complexities. Radware’s cloud-based deployment allows organizations to choose whether to share certificates. Organizations choosing not to share certificates can still receive automated, accurate and scalable cloud-based protection while preserving regulatory and privacy frameworks.
“Many organizations want strong Web DDoS protection but are hesitant or unable to share SSL certificates or decrypt traffic in the cloud,” said Haim Zelikovsky, vice president, cloud security business at Radware. “This release makes our proven Web DDoS protections available as a cloud service that is designed to eliminate that requirement.”
Automated Web DDoS Mitigation for Encrypted Applications
Radware’s AI-powered Web DDoS Protection service uses cross-correlated, behavioral analysis and machine learning models to establish traffic baselines, detect anomalies, and dynamically generate mitigation rules. The system is designed to mitigate layer 7 DDoS attacks in real time without requiring ongoing manual policy tuning. Protection automatically adapts as traffic patterns evolve, helping maintain application availability while minimizing impact on legitimate users.
Flexible Deployment Models
With this new release, organizations can deploy Web DDoS protection in multiple ways depending on operational, regulatory, and infrastructure requirements:
- Cloud-based deployment via Radware’s Cloud Security Platform, with optional SSL decryption
- On-premise deployment using Radware DefensePro appliances, or integrated application delivery and security through Radware Alteon Protect appliances
- Deployment in Kubernetes-native environments using Radware Kubernetes WAAP
These options allow customers to choose between cloud, on-premises, hybrid, and containerized deployments, including a cloud-based model that does not require SSL certificate sharing nor traffic decryption.
For more information about Radware’s Web DDoS Protection, please visit https://www.radware.com.
About Radware
Radware® (NASDAQ: RDWR) is a global leader in application security and delivery solutions for multi-cloud environments. The company’s cloud application, infrastructure, and API security solutions use AI-driven algorithms for precise, hands-free, real-time protection from the most sophisticated web, application, and DDoS attacks, API abuse, and bad bots. Enterprises and carriers worldwide rely on Radware’s solutions to address evolving cybersecurity challenges and protect their brands and business operations while reducing costs. For more information, please visit the Radware website.
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Safe Harbor Statement
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements made herein that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about Radware’s plans, outlook, beliefs, or opinions, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates,” “plans,” and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “should,” “would,” “may,” and “could.” For example, when we say in this press release that our new solution automatically adapts as traffic patterns evolve, helping maintain application availability while minimizing impact on legitimate users, we are using forward-looking statements. Because such statements deal with future events, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results, expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, could differ materially from Radware’s current forecasts and estimates. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the impact of global economic conditions, including as a result of the state of war declared in Israel in October 2023 and instability in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan, financial and credit market fluctuations (including elevated interest rates), impacts from tariffs or other trade restrictions, inflation, and the potential for regional or global recessions; our dependence on independent distributors to sell our products; our ability to manage our anticipated growth effectively; our business may be affected by sanctions, export controls, and similar measures, targeting Russia and other countries and territories, as well as other responses to Russia’s military conflict in Ukraine, including indefinite suspension of operations in Russia and dealings with Russian entities by many multi-national businesses across a variety of industries; the ability of vendors to provide our hardware platforms and components for the manufacture of our products; our ability to attract, train, and retain highly qualified personnel; intense competition in the market for cybersecurity and application delivery solutions and in our industry in general, and changes in the competitive landscape; our ability to develop new solutions and enhance existing solutions; the impact to our reputation and business in the event of real or perceived shortcomings, defects, or vulnerabilities in our solutions, if our end-users experience security breaches, or if our information technology systems and data, or those of our service providers and other contractors, are compromised by cyber-attackers or other malicious actors or by a critical system failure; our use of AI technologies that present regulatory, litigation, and reputational risks; risks related to the fact that our products must interoperate with operating systems, software applications and hardware that are developed by others; outages, interruptions, or delays in hosting services; the risks associated with our global operations, such as difficulties and costs of staffing and managing foreign operations, compliance costs arising from host country laws or regulations, partial or total expropriation, export duties and quotas, local tax exposure, economic or political instability, including as a result of insurrection, war, natural disasters, and major environmental, climate, or public health concerns; our net losses in the past and the possibility that we may incur losses in the future; a slowdown in the growth of the cybersecurity and application delivery solutions market or in the development of the market for our cloud-based solutions; long sales cycles for our solutions; risks and uncertainties relating to acquisitions or other investments; risks associated with doing business in countries with a history of corruption or with foreign governments; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; risks associated with undetected defects or errors in our products; our ability to protect our proprietary technology; intellectual property infringement claims made by third parties; laws, regulations, and industry standards affecting our business; compliance with open source and third-party licenses; complications with the design or implementation of our new enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system; our reliance on information technology systems; our ESG disclosures and initiatives; and other factors and risks over which we may have little or no control. This list is intended to identify only certain of the principal factors that could cause actual results to differ. For a more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties affecting Radware, refer to Radware’s Annual Report on Form 20-F, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the other risk factors discussed from time to time by Radware in reports filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and, except as required by applicable law, Radware undertakes no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statement in order to reflect events or circumstances after the date any such statement is made. Radware’s public filings are available from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or may be obtained on Radware’s website at www.radware.com.
Media Contact:
Gina Sorice
Radware
GinaSo@radware.com
FAQ
What is Radware's March 3, 2026 Web DDoS Protection announcement (RDWR)?
How does RDWR's solution block encrypted DDoS attacks without sharing SSL certificates?
Which deployment options does Radware offer for the new Web DDoS Protection (RDWR)?
Will Radware's RDWR service require ongoing manual policy tuning for mitigation?
Does Radware's March 2026 offering address privacy and regulatory concerns for encrypted traffic (RDWR)?
