Best Practices for DDoS Protection in Online Gaming Platforms

With the global development of internet technologies, the competition in the online gaming industry has intensified, leading to more frequent and complex DDoS attacks. These attacks pose serious threats to the operation of gaming platforms and the user experience. According to the 2023 Security Report by CDNetworks, network-layer DDoS attacks on the gaming industry accounted for 52% of all attacks during the year, ranking first across all industries. Such attacks not only cause website outages and service disruptions but can also result in severe financial losses. Developing effective DDoS defense strategies is a top priority for the online gaming industry.

How DDoS Attacks Threaten Gaming Platforms

DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks use a large number of infected computers and IoT devices to form a massive botnet, which floods the target website with fake requests, causing the server to run out of resources while processing them and preventing legitimate users from accessing the site. Common types of DDoS attacks in the gaming industry include network-layer and application-layer attacks:

1. Network Layer Attacks: Such as SYN Flood, UDP Flood, ICMP Flood, where attackers use forged data packets to exhaust the victim’s bandwidth and server resources, leading to service outages.
2. Application Layer Attacks: A typical example is the CC attack, where attackers simulate legitimate user behavior by sending large volumes of HTTP requests to exhaust the server’s computing power, disrupting normal website access.

Different types of DDoS attacks are often combined to enhance their destructive power and stealthiness. These threats create significant challenges for the smooth operation of gaming platforms.

Unique Challenges of DDoS Attacks in the Gaming Industry

Due to the unique nature of the gaming industry, it has long been a high-risk target for DDoS attacks. Today, DDoS attacks have moved beyond mere hacker techniques and are often driven by complex economic motives such as extortion, data theft, or disrupting competitors to gain a business advantage. This creates more complex and multi-layered challenges for gaming platforms when defending against DDoS attacks.

Firstly, the user behavior on gaming websites is typically high-concurrency and high-frequency, with large numbers of players placing bets, playing games, or making inquiries at the same time. Especially during peak times such as major sports events, important games, or lotteries, there is a massive surge in traffic. These fluctuations in traffic load increase the burden on servers and network infrastructure, making it easy for DDoS attacks to cause server outages or response delays, severely affecting the gaming experience for players.

Secondly, the online gaming industry typically requires high real-time performance, especially in live betting and real-time gaming. Any delay or interruption can cause players to miss their betting window or compromise the fairness of game results. DDoS attacks that lead to service interruptions not only damage player experience but can also harm the platform’s reputation, leading to business losses. Moreover, since online gaming often involves large sums of money, attackers may also use DDoS attacks for extortion, demanding a ransom to stop the attacks, which means gaming platforms must consider not only technical defenses but also potential financial extortion.

In conclusion, the challenges faced by the online gaming industry are not limited to the technical level but extend across various operational aspects. From high-concurrency access, real-time requirements, to security and trust issues, the impact of DDoS attacks must be fully addressed with effective response strategies.

Key Warning Signals of a DDoS Attack

Gaming platforms often experience a series of warning signs when under a DDoS attack. Rapid identification of these signals and taking timely action can help mitigate the impact of the attack. The following are common warning signs of a DDoS attack on gaming platforms:

1. Abnormal Traffic Spikes: Traffic suddenly surges outside peak hours, far exceeding normal traffic levels, accompanied by a large number of forged requests.
2. Slow Website or Service Response: Pages load slowly or time out, and live games or betting platforms experience lag or delays.
3. Unusual Traffic Sources: Receiving a large volume of traffic from non-target markets or suspicious geographic regions in a short period; abnormal request patterns, such as frequent access from the same IP.
4. Sharp Decline in Server Performance: Response times for backend services such as database queries and API interfaces increase abnormally. CPU, memory, and network bandwidth usage spikes to 100%.
5. Large Amount of Invalid or Forged Data Packets: Detection of random or malformed packets such as forged TCP SYN, UDP, or ICMP packets.
6. Increased User Complaints: Players report being unable to log in, make deposits, or place bets, with frequent timeouts; the platform’s customer service receives a surge in service interruption complaints.

SIRAYA’s DDoS Protection Solution: A Strong Defense for Gaming Platforms

In response to the complexity and ongoing threat of DDoS attacks, gaming platforms need an efficient and comprehensive solution to ensure business stability and an uninterrupted gaming experience for users. Siraya’s DDoS protection solution combines cutting-edge technology and years of industry experience to comprehensively secure gaming platforms.

1. Multi-Layer Defense (L3/L4/L7 DDoS Mitigation)
   Siraya offers comprehensive protection for both network layer (L3/L4) and application layer (L7):
   • L3/L4 Protection: Using intelligent traffic cleaning, we detect and block massive amounts of malicious data packets (such as SYN Flood, UDP Flood, ICMP Flood), ensuring stable network layer operation.
   • L7 Protection: For application layer threats like CC attacks, we use intelligent detection and rule-based filtering to accurately block malicious requests, ensuring the normal operation of web services.
2. Real-Time Monitoring and Alerts
   Siraya provides multi-dimensional real-time monitoring and rapid alerting services:
   • Real-Time Detection: We monitor DDoS traffic from the network layer to the application layer and quickly identify anomalous behavior.
   • Multiple Alerting Methods: Real-time alerts via email, Telegram, etc., ensuring the technical team is informed immediately.
   • Visualized Analytics: Detailed visual displays of attack data help the platform gain insights into attack trends and behaviors.
3. Global Nodes (PoP) and Intelligent Scheduling
   Siraya’s intelligent scheduling system dynamically adjusts resource allocation based on attack intensity and traffic, ensuring continuous availability of the gaming platform:
   • Our globally distributed CDN nodes use load balancing to disperse attack traffic and maintain service stability.
   • When traffic surges in specific regions, the system can quickly switch to backup routes to reduce the risk of service disruption from localized attacks.
4. Traffic Limiting Strategies
   Through flexible traffic control strategies, Siraya ensures platform availability during high-traffic attacks:
   • Rate limiting for requests from individual IPs or users to prevent overload from malicious bots or attackers.
   • Customized traffic thresholds for specific periods or regions, further enhancing security.
5. IP Obfuscation to Protect Source Server Stability and Security
   To prevent attackers from targeting the gaming platform’s source servers directly, Siraya uses IP obfuscation technology:
   • Source Station Protection: The real IP address of the server is hidden, and only the global PoP node IPs are exposed for access.
   • Whitelist Mechanism: Allows gaming platforms to add global PoP node IPs to the firewall whitelist to block unauthorized access, further enhancing security.

With these strategies in place, even if the platform faces T-level DDoS or millions of concurrent CC attacks, Siraya can ensure the platform’s security and high availability, ensuring business continuity without interruption.