Dear Alibaba Cloud users,
To address increasingly complex bot attack threats, Alibaba Cloud Web Application Firewall (WAF) has launched a new version of bot management. This upgrade introduces architectural innovation breakthroughs, delivering significant improvements in protection depth, detection accuracy, and operational efficiency.
Effective time
The scheduled upgrade time is Aug. 1, 2025 (UTC+8). The actual implementation time shall prevail.
Upgrades
Defense system reconstruction
Multi-dimensional fingerprint detection engine: supports ClientID, JA3, JA4, and HTTP/2 fingerprints in match conditions and deduplication analysis based on multiple feature combinations to accurately identify disguised devices.
Dynamic defense matrix: Implements intelligent rotation through JavaScript validation and dynamic token algorithms, substantially enhancing attack resistance.
Visualization rule center:
Introduces a three-tier protection system, categorizing bots into malicious, suspicious, and legitimate.
Supports rule-level switches and custom protection actions.
Supports flexible effective time settings to adapt to business cycle fluctuations.
AI protection evolution
Model upgrade: introduces a multi-dimensional detection model for abnormal traffic, improving detection accuracy.
Threat intelligence enhancement: introduces an exclusive bot AI intelligence module, defending against Large Language Model (LLM) crawlers.
User experience enhancement
Full-traffic analysis dashboard: displays bot feature profiles in real time, helping users configure precise mitigation policies.
Security report update: adds detailed blocking reason fields to logs, improving tracing efficiency.
Pricing changes
Actual prices on the buy page of bot management shall prevail.
Subscription
Billable item
Old version
New version
Change type
Bot management for web application protection
Pro: USD 500 per month
Enterprise: USD 1,000 per month
Ultimate: USD 1,720 per month
USD 1,150 per month
Pricing change
Bot management for app protection
USD 300 per month
USD 1,750 per month
Pricing change
Pay-as-you-go
Billable item
Old version
New version
Change type
Feature fees
Bot management for app protection: 50 security capacity units (SeCUs) per protection template
Bot management for app protection: 80 SeCUs per protection template
Pricing change
Custom rule: no separate billing
Custom rule: 15 SeCUs per custom rule
New billable item
Impact
To comprehensively enhance web application protection capabilities, Alibaba Cloud WAF plans to start upgrading its bot management and implement pricing changes on Aug. 1, 2025.
New users
Starting Aug. 1, 2025, all users who newly purchase bot management can use the new version of bot management at new prices, including the AI intelligence protection system.
The old version will no longer be available for new purchases.
Existing users
Existing users of subscription WAF can continue to renew their bot management subscription at old prices.
Existing users of pay-as-you-go WAF can refer to the following instructions:
Upgrade period: Aug. 1, 2025 to Dec. 30, 2025
Implementation method: batch-based automatic upgrade
Billing change: real-time billing at new prices after the upgrade
Service guarantee: no business interruption during the upgrade process and seamless migration of protection rules