ISP Hijacking: A Comprehensive Analysis and Adaptation Strategies

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What is ISP Hijacking?

ISP hijacking refers to the act of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) using their control over network transmission to alter data or traffic without authorization when users access websites. The specifics include inserting pop-up ads, modifying webpage content, or even redirecting users to third-party sites unrelated to the website’s business, or malicious ones. Unlike hacker attacks, ISP hijacking typically occurs within legitimate network paths, making it difficult for users to detect abnormal behavior.

In the iGaming industry, this type of hijacking is particularly rampant. It not only affects players’ access experience but can also damage the reputation of gaming platforms, lead to customer attrition, and even trigger additional legal and compliance risks. ISP hijacking has become one of the key challenges faced by gaming platforms.

Common Methods of ISP Hijacking

To suppress online gaming activities, ISPs use their key positions within network transmission paths to alter, block, or redirect traffic, interfering with users’ normal access to gaming websites. Some common forms of ISP hijacking in the industry include:

  1. DNS Hijacking
    The ISP alters DNS resolution records to redirect users to specific IP addresses:
    • Domain Blocking: The ISP changes DNS settings to return a malicious IP address, such as redirecting the gaming site’s domain to an invalid IP (e.g., 127.0.0.1) or a fake page, rendering the website inaccessible.
    • Redirection to Warning Pages: When users access the gaming platform, DNS redirection directs them to government or regulatory warning pages, displaying messages such as “Accessing an illegal site.”
  2. HTTP Hijacking
    In an unencrypted HTTP protocol, ISPs can modify requests or responses between the player and the gaming platform:
    • HTTP Request Hijacking: Direct modification of HTTP request headers, forcefully terminating connections with the gaming site.
    • HTTP Response Injection: Injecting additional JavaScript or iframe ads into the returned HTML page, directing users to government oversight pages or specified promotional ads.
  3. HTTPS Hijacking
    Even when the gaming website uses encrypted HTTPS protocols, ISPs may hijack traffic through methods such as:
    • Fake Certificates: Using self-signed or trusted intermediate certificates to forge the target website’s HTTPS link, leading players to incorrectly trust the connection.
    • Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) Attacks: Intercepting and decrypting the communication between client and server, then re-encrypting the data before sending it to the target site. ISPs can inject scripts, alter content, or steal sensitive data in the process.
    • SSL Stripping: Downgrading HTTPS requests to HTTP, bypassing encryption and tampering with data.
  4. Traffic Blocking
    ISPs block communication traffic between the gaming platform and its users:
    • IP Address Blocking: Blacklisting the IP address of the gaming platform’s server, preventing any traffic from reaching the target server.
    • Protocol Identification and Blocking: Using deep packet inspection (DPI) technology, ISPs identify traffic patterns from gaming platforms and terminate connections to reduce accessibility.

These hijacking methods are often backed by government laws, regulations, or policies, and are typically used in combination by ISPs to restrict and suppress the online operations of the gaming industry. For gaming platforms, understanding these hijacking techniques and implementing effective technical defenses is crucial.

Characteristics of ISP Hijacking

ISP hijacking is known for its stealth and targeting. Since hijacking occurs within the transmission link during a user’s web access, it often does not directly affect the appearance or speed of page loading, making it difficult for users to detect any abnormal activity. The iGaming industry is particularly affected, as ISPs can precisely target specific traffic based on the platform’s nature, traffic source, or geographic characteristics.

Additionally, ISP hijacking tends to have strong persistence and scalability. Leveraging their core position within network control, ISPs can carry out hijacking behaviors on a long-term, large-scale basis, affecting all users within the targeted region. This large-scale traffic redirection or blocking not only disrupts the normal operation of gaming platforms but can also significantly damage the platform’s reputation and user experience.

SIRAYA’s End-to-End Anti-Hijacking Solution

To address the hijacking issues outlined above, SIRAYA provides a comprehensive end-to-end anti-hijacking solution using advanced technologies like smart IP routing, link encryption, and hijacking monitoring, covering business scenarios from web to app. This solution helps clients ensure business stability and data security.

Comprehensive Scenario Coverage

SIRAYA provides comprehensive solutions for both Web and APP devices, enabling iGaming platforms to reach a wider audience more effectively in the mobile internet era. For the Web end, SIRAYA provides two types of solutions: domain name access and IP access, according to the different strategies of different platforms for website access promotion, allowing platforms to continue to use past promotion strategies and allowing users to access the platform in a habitual way, maximizing user retention. For the mobile end, SIRAYA provides an embedded SDK solution, which implements specific functions such as hijacking event monitoring, content hijacking prevention, and node resource switching through the SDK, which can both improve user experience and maximize business stability. These measures have greatly improved the performance and scalability of the business, and can continuously help platforms attract new users, retain old users, and continuously expand the business.

Rich IP Resources & Flexible Scheduling for Business Stability & Performance

Whether it is the Web end or the APP end, anti-hijacking is like a cat-and-mouse game. Operators will block related IPs or domains in different ways, or use this as a breakthrough to make relevant content hijacking modifications. Therefore, a rich pool of network resources, especially IP resources, is crucial for scheduling. In this regard, SIRAYA cooperates with multiple cloud vendors to have a rich pool of IP resources, and uses the Global IP Scheduling & Monitoring Center to help platforms understand the hijacking situation in real time, and according to different hijacking situations, intelligently schedules the latest IP that can be accessed by users, maximizing the sustainability of the business while helping platforms save the cost of repeatedly purchasing domains. In addition, for platforms operating in multiple regions, SIRAYA can also use its rich IP resources to automatically schedule the nearest and best-performing node resources to provide the best user experience for platform users.

Reliable Content Hijacking Prevention

By using link encryption technology,random SNI distribution technology, and encrypted tunnel, SIRAYA can effectively protect the relevant content of requests and transmissions between users and the platform, effectively preventing content hijacking, and ensuring that players’ trust and satisfaction with the platform remain high.

Regional Availability Optimization

Due to the strong regional characteristics of operator hijacking, SIRAYA also provides many customized solutions for different regions according to the characteristics of each region. For some specific key regions, such as mainland China and Southeast Asia, SIRAYA has optimized local nodes and strategies to avoid interference from regional ISPs, ensuring maximum business availability. SIRAYA also provides convenience for various platforms in some specific cross-border businesses. For example, for businesses that need to cover mainland China users, the CPS dedicated line is a very useful service. The CPS dedicated line can bypass hijacked or blocked public network paths and directly connect to SIRAYA’s global acceleration nodes, not only improving access speed but also effectively preventing ISPs from intercepting traffic.

In summary, SIRAYA helps customers effectively deal with operator hijacking problems in different regions by optimizing local nodes, customized solutions, and providing special services such as CPS dedicated lines, ensuring the stable operation of the business.

Integrated Security & Acceleration Solution

In addition to optimizing the availability and performance of user access, SIRAYA also fully utilizes various cloud security solutions of various cloud vendors to provide WAAP-level protection for platforms, minimizing the probability of various security incidents that can harm platform operations by exploiting web application-level vulnerabilities, such as SSL stripping or a MITM attack. This helps platforms achieve enhanced security protection, accelerated access, and superior availability. It is especially worth mentioning that for iGaming platforms, SIRAYA also provides a cloud-based DDoS prevention solution that can withstand ultra-large-scale DDoS attacks, further improving the performance and security of the business.

Through SIRAYA’s comprehensive end-to-end anti-hijacking solution, gaming platforms can effectively address the threat of ISP hijacking, reduce domain usage, lower domain acquisition costs, and significantly enhance the player access experience, providing strong protection and enhancement for their operations.

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