1. A method, in a data processing system, for handling client computing device requests, comprising: partitioning a set of rules, stored in a storage device of the data processing system, into a plurality of filter sets, wherein each filter set comprises a different subset of the set of rules and is directed to identifying a different type of attack on a backend application or backend service; selecting, by a processor of the data processing system, one or more filter sets, in the plurality of filter sets, to be used to validate client computing device requests received from client computing devices, wherein the one or more filter sets is less than a total number of the filter sets in the plurality of filter sets; applying, by the processor, the one or more selected filter sets to at least one client computing device request or at least one response to a client computing device request; and dynamically modifying, by the processor, which filter sets of the plurality of filter sets that are included in the one or more selected filter sets, based on an adaptive reinforcement learning operation on results of applying the one or more selected filter sets to at least one client computing device request or at least one response to a client computing device request, wherein dynamically modifying which filter sets of the plurality of filters sets that are included in the one or more selected filter sets further comprises performing the adaptive reinforcement learning operation based on detected violations of rules in the one or more selected filter sets and exceptions thrown by the backend application or backend service in response to client computing device requests that passed the one or more selected filter sets, and wherein the adaptive reinforcement learning comprises: generating a security risk value based on a ratio of a number of exceptions thrown by the backend application or backend service to a total of the number of exceptions thrown and detected violations, identifying a corresponding reward value for the security risk value; and enabling or disabling rule sets in the plurality of rule sets to thereby select or de-select rules sets in the one or more selected rule sets based on the security risk value and corresponding reward value.