sendRateLimitResponse(httpResponse, rateLimitHelper.getRetryAfterSeconds());
            return;
        }

        chain.doFilter(request, response);
    }

    /**
     * Send a 403 Forbidden response for blocked IPs.
     * @param response the HTTP response
     * @throws IOException if an I/O error occurs
     */
    protected void sendBlockedResponse(final HttpServletResponse response) throws IOException {