Key Takeaways

• A firewall is a barrier between trusted and untrusted networks that monitors and controls traffic based on established rules.
• Legitimate gaming firewalls for platforms like 918Kiss and Mega888 will prevent malicious traffic and unrequested access to their appropriate servers.
• Utilizing firewalls is not enough; it must be supplemented with other technology for multi-layered security.
• The purpose of network security is to defend against threats like DDoS to keep gaming platforms available.
• Network segmentation helps prevent major data breaches by isolating where personal and critical data is located to avoid collateral damage from relatively less critical attacks.

Table of Content

1. Introduction to Network Security
2. Functionality of Firewalls
3. Specific Firewalls Relevant to Network Security of 918Kiss/Mega888
4. Other Considerations Beyond Firewalls for Network Security
5. Summary
6. Evidence Supporting Firewalls and Network Security in Online Gaming Platforms

Technical Security Zone: Firewalls and Network Security

1. Introduction to Network Security

Definition of Network Security

Network security is the protection from intrusion of the networks upon which companies run. There are many technologies, policies and practices which ensure integrity, confidentiality and accessibility of applications, data and more from malicious cyber attacks in technical security zone.

What is a Firewall?

A firewall acts as a doorman/bouncer/network security system to examine everything coming in and out. A firewall is basically an online filter which creates a boundary between an organization's trusted space and the presumed untrustworthy internet (and other external sources).

Why Network Security is Important for Online Platforms

Online platforms with games like 918Kissand Mega888have extensive traffic levels and financial transactions which render them vulnerable opportunities for hackers craving easy access to a wealth of information. As such, network security is vital to the existence of these platforms to shield private user information, sustain safe playing opportunities, and effectively promote positive perceptions of the companies themselves. For instance, IBM's 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report found that the average cost of a data breach equals $4.45 million. Companies cannot operate in a space where data breaches can be made public or subjected to inquiries after inadequate security efforts. They need to have network security established at all times.

2. Functionality of Firewalls

How Firewalls Operate

Firewalls operate based on predetermined security rules that permit or reject certain types of network traffic. For example, a firewall would deny an international purchase from a user in the system flagged for fraudulent activity, while it would allow a log-in attempt from a trusted employee who is known to operate out of his IP address consistently.

Firewall Classification/Types of Firewalls

Firewalls began as rudimentary systems but have become increasingly sophisticated as the need to safeguard sensitive information emerged. The following is a compilation of various types of firewalls:

3. Specific Firewalls Relevant to Network Security of 918Kiss/Mega888

Firewalls Block Unrequested Access

A legitimate network firewall will not only prevent attempts at port scanning by hackers attempting to find loopholes through which they can access the gaming software platform's servers, but it will also provide access control such that users cannot access these systems to gain information about them.

Firewalls Shield From Cyberattack Risks

DDoS attacks represent significant cybersecurity risks associated with online gaming platforms, enabling someone to throw enough traffic at a server (or multiple servers) that access to legitimate users is compromised. Legitimate firewalls can withstand that shock or, when partnered with cloud-based DDoS protection services, can absorb that traffic and filter it out from legitimate sites. Gaming DDoS attacks increased by 87% in 2023 (Cloudflare).

Firewalls Support Network Segmentation

Network segmentation involves creating zones within a network to keep sensitive information separate from less-sensitive operations. Within the 918Kiss and Mega888 systems, the most sensitive aspect of the network is the player database and their financial systems so that the strictest firewall applies there. This way, if something less-sensitive like the marketing web server faces an attack, the core of the gameplay and experience still cannot be breached.

4. Other Considerations Beyond Firewalls for Network Security

Intrusion Detection/Prevention

An IDS/IPS is part of a security firewall and a burglar alarm for a network. An IDS will alert the administrator that there is suspicious activity while an IPS will block what it perceives as suspicious, maintaining the integrity of security without the immediate intervention of administrators.

VPNs

VPNs provide encrypted tunnels for remote work and legitimate operating systems for things like 918Kiss and Mega888. Such a tunnel prevents eavesdropping from occurring and makes sensitive information easier to navigate on a platform without complications.

Regular Audits/Pen Tests

• No firewall protection guarantees 100% security.
• Reliable platforms employ ethical hackers to conduct penetration tests.
• Penetration tests involve simulated attacks to identify weaknesses in firewall rules and network security.
• These tests help determine areas where security needs improvement.
• Regular network scans ensure compliance with PCI DSS standards.
• Ongoing penetration tests maintain good standing with regulatory bodies.

5. Summary

It's Always a Race!

When platforms like 918Kiss/Mega888 put stricter rules in place for security, cyberattackers implement more threats based on vulnerabilities. It's always a race.

It's Never Enough!

Realistically, a platform needs 24/7 monitoring to assert that network security is sufficient because threats can happen at any point in time. Smart behavior detection from firewalls would need to flag incident reports so site administrators can take action immediately if something goes wrong to maintain availability.

6. Evidence Supporting Firewalls and Network Security in Online Gaming Platforms

As a result, the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023 shows the average cost of a data breach has reached $4.45 million, the highest it's ever been, an increase of 15% over the course of the last three years—devastating for transactions facilitated by 918Kiss and Mega888 which are extremely high-volume. In gaming, Cloudflare's Q3 2023 DDoS Threat Report shows a 65% increase in attacks overall. The Gaming and Gambling industry produces the highest HTTP DDoS traffic volume and number of attacks; it even surpassed cryptocurrency as a primary target. Meanwhile, Akamai's report in 2024 states that 94% more Layer 7 DDoS attacks were facilitated from January 2023 to June 2024 than from January 2022 to June 2023. June and August 2023 had more than 25 million Layer 7 attacks each while countries in Asia and the Pacific were the primary victims. In addition, there's been notable attack occurrences like the September 2023 MGM Resorts cyber attack which grounded systems for three days, the Caesars Entertainment ransomware attack that took systems down for three days, and the November 2024 cyber attack on the International Game Technology (IGT) where exposed internal servers caused unprecedented downtime for IGT. Thus, high levels of firewalls in addition to network segmentation and security policies must exist in case unauthorized entry occurs; otherwise, any legitimacy that established platforms have goes down the drain. According to Gcore's H1 2024 DDoS report, DDoS attacks worldwide increased by 46%, up from 570k to 830k; the Gaming industry was targeted in 49% of attacks. Thus, next generation firewalls (NGFW) should always be supported by IDS/IPS and constant penetration testing because if people aren't watching over systems in real time, these numbers will increase constantly in a cat and mouse game with cyber criminals.