Gaming technology provides low latency and top-end performance. Its unique architectures and public cloud environments can be a challenge to keep secure, however.
New virtual worlds and MMORPG games have attracted the attention of hackers and cybercriminals. This includes money laundering schemes using virtual currencies and intellectual property infringement.
Understanding Virtual Realm Security
Most virtual worlds require users to agree to terms of service that spell out privacy policies and the ability for companies to track activity.
As these worlds become more common and are used for business, gaming, social networking, and other activities, cybersecurity professionals will need to understand how they impact the real world.
The lack of regulation and legal processes in these worlds exposes users to criminal behavior. Virtual worlds are a perfect place to launder money by converting virtual currencies and goods into in-world currency or real money, which can then be sold on the black market for profit. This is a growing area of interest for cybercriminals.
Hackers can also use the virtual world to capture personal information. For instance, online gamers may share their real names, locations, and other details with friends through gaming platforms like PlayStation 4.
Some games use biometric scanning technology that can identify a person’s face, movements, or voice. This information could be used to steal identities or attack systems. To combat these threats, security teams should deploy zero-trust network access (ZTNA) and network segmentation solutions.
Limiting Malicious Activity with Cloud Web Protect
As the gaming industry continues to grow and evolve, so do the potential threats to gaming security. Cybercriminals are always looking for ways to exploit vulnerabilities in online games and steal sensitive information from users. One way to limit malicious activity and ensure gaming security is by using Cloud Web Protection.
Cloud Web Protection is a service that provides real-time protection against web-based threats, including malware, phishing, and other types of cyberattacks. It works by analyzing incoming traffic and blocking any suspicious activity before it can reach the network. This is especially important for gaming companies that rely on the internet to deliver their content and services.
One of the biggest threats to gaming security is Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. These attacks flood the network with traffic, causing it to crash or become unavailable to legitimate users.
With Cloud Web Protection, gaming companies can detect and mitigate DDoS attacks in real time, ensuring that their network remains available to users.
Another benefit of Cloud Web Protection is that it can be customized to meet the specific needs of gaming companies. For example, gaming companies can set up geo-blocking to limit access to their games from certain regions or countries. They can also block specific IP addresses or ranges to prevent malicious traffic from accessing their network.
Finally, Cloud Web Protection can help gaming companies comply with data privacy laws and regulations. The service can be configured to block websites or applications that do not meet specific security standards or that collect too much personal information from users. This ensures that gaming companies remain in compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
Implementing Advanced Firewalls and VPNs
Firewalls can help protect online gaming sites, but they’re not the only way to prevent cybersecurity threats. Firewalls need to be combined with other security solutions, such as VPNs, to be effective.
A virtual private network (VPN) encrypts your data to create a secure connection. This helps prevent cyber attacks by ensuring no one can access your information. VPNs can also help improve usability and performance for remote users.
A firewall is an IT tool that analyzes and manages internet traffic. It can also block unwanted connections and monitor a device’s activity. A firewall can filter packets to stop malware and viruses. It can also identify a malicious site and stop it from being downloaded.
Unlike traditional firewalls, next-generation firewalls (NGFW) perform deep packet inspection. This examines the packet’s contents, source, and behavior to protect against more sophisticated cyber threats.
The NGFW can then take action by blocking the website or stopping the threat in real-time. It can also provide granular network access control by allowing or disabling specific applications or features.
Strengthening Collaboration with Cybersecurity Teams
There are several benefits of team collaboration when it comes to cybersecurity. Not only will it increase communication and understanding between teams, but it can also help to prevent cyber attacks from disrupting your business operations and data.
When your employees collaborate with each other, they can share information about potential threats that could be targeting their department and thwart them before they have a chance to devastate the systems and data that they protect.
For instance, your IT department can communicate with your product development team to warn them about upcoming hardware and software risks that may require enhanced security measures.
Combating DDoS Attacks with Cloud Solutions
Defending against DDoS attacks is a common challenge that gaming networks face. DDoS attacks typically leverage multiple devices to amplify their impact, which can cause servers and networks to be overloaded with malicious traffic.
One of the most effective ways to combat DDoS attacks is by implementing network-level security. This can include limiting broadcasting between devices on your network and using a DDoS detection system for network infrastructure protection.
Another effective measure is to use cloud-based mitigation solutions to prevent DDoS attacks from impacting your infrastructure and applications.
One of the best ways to prevent DDoS attacks is to ensure your gaming network has enough bandwidth and servers to handle the attack volume. This can be done by ensuring that your Internet connectivity is robust and by using load balancers to shift traffic between servers.
Lastly, you can also limit application (layer 7) DDoS attacks by configuring your web application firewall (WAF) to provide DDoS protection.
Utilizing Network Traffic Analysis for Threat Dete
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) is a solution that analyzes all incoming and outgoing data packets on a network. It helps administrators determine what normal behavior looks like and alerts them when abnormal activity occurs.
NTA also allows administrators to see how threats move across the network and identifies where they originated from, who they targeted, and where they spread laterally within the organization.
Using NTA can help security analysts quickly identify if they are dealing with an internal threat or a malicious outsider. Analyzing the threat’s movement and activity can help them determine its level of sophistication and take appropriate actions to mitigate it.
NTA is a powerful security tool to help organizations protect their infrastructure and the gaming platforms that run on them. Whether it is a DDoS attack or another type of malware, NTA can detect and alert security teams so that they can take action and ensure gaming is not disrupted.
Notable Takeaways
Cloud web protection is a powerful tool for ensuring the security of virtual environments such as gaming platforms.
By leveraging advanced technologies like malware detection and prevention, firewalls, DDoS mitigation, and more, organizations can protect their data and users from malicious threats in the digital realm.
With cloud web protection, businesses can take advantage of the scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness of the cloud to keep their virtual environment secure. With careful planning and implementation, organizations can ensure that their gaming platforms remain secure for their users.
