You can monitor App and API Protection for PHP apps running in host-based or container-based environments such as Docker, Kubernetes, AWS ECS, and AWS EKS.

Prerequisites

• The Datadog Agent is installed and configured for your application’s operating system or container, cloud, or virtual environment.
• Datadog APM is configured for your application or service, and traces are being received by Datadog.
• If your service is running with an Agent with Remote Configuration enabled and a tracing library version that supports it, you can block attackers from the Datadog UI without additional configuration of the Agent or tracing libraries.

Enabling threat detection

Get started

1. Install the latest Datadog PHP library by downloading and running the installer:

   wget https://github.com/DataDog/dd-trace-php/releases/latest/download/datadog-setup.php -O datadog-setup.php
   php datadog-setup.php --php-bin all --enable-appsec
   

   To check that your service’s language and framework versions are supported for AAP capabilities, see Compatibility.

2. Enable the library in your code by restarting PHP-FPM or Apache. In a containerized environment, if you previously installed the library without enabling AAP, you can optionally enable it after by setting the following environment variable:

   Update your configuration container for APM by adding the following argument in your docker run command:

   docker run [...] -e DD_APPSEC_ENABLED=true [...]
   

   Add the following environment variable value to your container Dockerfile:

   ENV DD_APPSEC_ENABLED=true
   

   Update your configuration yaml file container for APM and add the AppSec env variable:

   spec:
     template:
       spec:
         containers:
           - name: <CONTAINER_NAME>
             image: <CONTAINER_IMAGE>/<TAG>
             env:
               - name: DD_APPSEC_ENABLED
                 value: "true"
   

   Update your ECS task definition JSON file, by adding this in the environment section:

   "environment": [
     ...,
     {
       "name": "DD_APPSEC_ENABLED",
       "value": "true"
     }
   ]
   

   The library collects security data from your application and sends it to the Agent, which sends it to Datadog, where out-of-the-box detection rules flag attacker techniques and potential misconfigurations so you can take steps to remediate.

3. To see App and API Protection threat detection in action, send known attack patterns to your application. For example, trigger the Security Scanner Detected rule by running a file that contains the following curl script:

   for ((i=1;i<=250;i++)); 
   do
   # Target existing service’s routes
   curl https://your-application-url/existing-route -A dd-test-scanner-log;
   # Target non existing service’s routes
   curl https://your-application-url/non-existing-route -A dd-test-scanner-log;
   done

   Note: The dd-test-scanner-log value is supported in the most recent releases.

   A few minutes after you enable your application and exercise it, threat information appears in the Application Trace and Signals Explorer in Datadog.

Using AAP without APM tracing

If you want to use Application & API Protection without APM tracing functionality, you can deploy with tracing disabled:

1. Configure your tracing library with the DD_APM_TRACING_ENABLED=false environment variable in addition to the DD_APPSEC_ENABLED=true environment variable.
2. This configuration will reduce the amount of APM data sent to Datadog to the minimum required by App and API Protection products.

For more details, see [Standalone App and API Protection][standalone_billing_guide]. [standalone_billing_guide]: /security/application_security/guide/standalone_application_security/

Further Reading

Additional helpful documentation, links, and articles:

Adding user information to tracesDOCUMENTATION PHP Datadog Tracer Library source codeSOURCE CODE OOTB App and API Protection RulesDOCUMENTATION Troubleshooting App and API ProtectionDOCUMENTATION