Gcore has expanded the regional coverage of its cloud services, including Infrastructure as a Service, AI IPU Infrastructure, Logging as a Service, and Managed Kubernetes. New points of presence are located in the US, Asia, and EMEA. Read on to learn more about the services and their locations.
IaaS: 23 Locations
As an IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) provider, Gcore offers virtual machines, bare metal servers, S3 storage, load balancing, and other cloud services. With Gcore’s IaaS, you get all the necessary building blocks for your cloud infrastructure.
In May 2023, we added new points of presence in Dubai (UAE) and Newport (UK.) The total list of Gcore Cloud PoPs comprises 23 locations across the Americas, Asia, Africa, and EMEA.
AI IPU infrastructure: 3 Locations
Gcore also provides AI Infrastructure as a Service based on Graphcore IPUs. AI IPU infrastructure speeds up machine learning and produces outstanding results for language processing, visual computing, and graph neural networks.
AI IPU infrastructure is now available in Luxembourg, Amsterdam, and Newport.
LaaS: 2 Locations
LaaS (Logging as a Service) is a cloud log management platform designed to collect, store, process, and analyze logs from infrastructure and applications. LaaS makes it easier to analyze events and data from multiple services in a single dashboard. With Gcore’s LaaS, you can detect and resolve errors in your infrastructure, investigate security incidents, check server connectivity, and more.
LaaS is available in Luxembourg and Manassas.
FaaS: 9 Locations
FaaS (Function as a Service) is a cloud service that lets you run code without worrying about the underlying infrastructure. You simply write a discrete piece of code called “function” and deploy it in our cloud environment. A function runs on demand, and you are charged only for its execution. FaaS helps to save costs on deploying a simple application, expanding functionality, and reducing time-to-market.
FaaS is now available in core regions in addition to edge regions. Here is the complete list of locations:
- Luxembourg
- Luxembourg-2
- Manassas
- Singapore
- Tokyo
- Santa Clara
- Frankfurt
- Istanbul
- Chicago
Managed Kubernetes: 4 Locations
Managed Kubernetes is a platform service that allows you to quickly and easily deploy a prebuilt Kubernetes cluster based on Gcore Cloud resources. Gcore’s team is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure and cluster, so you can quickly launch and easily scale your containerized applications.
The list of the Managed Kubernetes locations includes:
- Luxembourg
- Manassas
- Singapore
- Frankfurt
Gcore Basic: 5 Locations
Gcore Basic is a low-cost virtual machine with partial CPU usage. It is suitable for simple tasks such as hosting a website or blog, running a pet project, and deploying a private VPN. Gcore Basic is a great solution for home users, developers, and small business owners. You can deploy a virtual machine in a couple of minutes and integrate it with any Gcore Cloud service. Benefits include the latest Intel® Xeon® 4314 CPU, free built-in DDoS protection, and free egress traffic.
The list of the Gcore Basic locations includes:
- Frankfurt
- Amsterdam
- Manassas
- Hong Kong
- Tokyo
Take Advantage of Gcore’s Cloud Services
By expanding our regional coverage, we aim to improve the cloud experience for our customers, provide advanced IaaS and PaaS services anywhere, and enable global companies to achieve scalability across their distributed services and teams. Gcore’s network consists of 140+ points of presence worldwide, including 23 unique cloud locations. We are constantly enhancing our services for the convenience and efficiency of our customers, regardless of their location.
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Introducing Super Transit for outstanding DDoS protection performance
We understand that security and performance for your online services are non-negotiables. That’s why we’re introducing Super Transit, a cutting-edge DDoS protection and acceleration feature designed to safeguard your infrastructure while delivering lightning-fast connectivity. Read on to discover the benefits of Super Transit, who can benefit from the feature, and how it works.DDoS mitigation meets exceptional network performanceSuper Transit intelligently routes your traffic via Gcore’s 180 point-of-presence global network, proactively detecting, mitigating, and filtering DDoS attacks. When an attack occurs, your customers don’t notice any difference: Their connection remains stable and secure. Plus, they get an enhanced end-user experience, as the delay between the end user and the server is significantly reduced, cutting down latency.“Super Transit allows for fast, worldwide access to our DDoS protection services,” explains Andrey Slastenov, Head of Security at Gcore. “This is particularly important for real-time services such as online gaming and video streaming, where delay can significantly impact user experience.”Who needs Super Transit?Super Transit is designed for enterprises that require both high-performance connectivity and strong DDoS protection. Here’s how it helps different roles in your organization:CISOs and security teams: Reduce risks and help ensure compliance by integrating seamless DDoS protection into your network.CTOs and IT leaders: Optimize traffic performance and maintain uninterrupted business operations.Network engineers and security architects: Simplify security management with API, automated attack mitigation, and secure GRE tunneling.How Super Transit worksSuper Transit optimizes performance and security by performing four steps.Traffic diversion: Incoming traffic is automatically routed through Gcore’s global anycast network, where it undergoes real-time analysis. Malicious traffic is blocked before it can reach your infrastructure.Threat detection and mitigation: Using advanced filtering, Super Transit identifies and neutralizes DDoS attacks.Performance optimization: Legitimate requests are routed through the optimal path within Gcore’s high-performance backbone, minimizing latency and maximizing speed.Secure tunneling to your network: Traffic is securely forwarded to your origin via stable tunneling protocols, providing a smooth, uninterrupted, and secure connection.Get Super Transit today for high-performance securitySuper Transit is available now to all Gcore customers. To get started, get in touch with our security experts who’ll guide you through how to get Super Transit up and running. You can also explore our product documentation, which provides a clear and simple guide to configuring the feature.Our innovations are driven by cutting-edge research, enabling us to stay one step ahead of attackers. We release the latest DDoS attack trends twice yearly, so you can make informed decisions about your security needs. Get the H1 2024 report free.Discover the latest DDoS attack trends with Gcore Radar
How gaming studios can use technology to safeguard players
Online gaming can be an enjoyable and rewarding pastime, providing a sense of community and even improving cognitive skills. During the pandemic, for example, online gaming was proven to boost many players’ mental health and provided a vital social outlet at a time of great isolation. However, despite the overall benefits of gaming, there are two factors that can seriously spoil the gaming experience for players: toxic behavior and cyber attacks.Both toxic behavior and cyberattacks can lead to players abandoning games in order to protect themselves. While it’s impossible to eradicate harmful behaviors completely, robust technology can swiftly detect and ban bullies as well as defend against targeted cyberattacks that can ruin the gaming experience.This article explores how gaming studios can leverage technology to detect toxic behavior, defend against cyber threats, and deliver a safer, more engaging experience for players.Moderating toxic behavior with AI-driven technologyToxic behavior—including harassment, abusive messages, and cheating—has long been a problem in the world of gaming. Toxic behavior not only affects players emotionally but can also damage a studio’s reputation, drive churn, and generate negative reviews.The online disinhibition effect leads some players to behave in ways they may not in real life. But even when it takes place in a virtual world, this negative behavior has real long-term detrimental effects on its targets.While you can’t control how players behave, you can control how quickly you respond.Gaming studios can implement technology that makes dealing with toxic incidents easier and makes gaming a safer environment for everyone. While in the past it may have taken days to verify a complaint about a player’s behavior, today, with AI-driven security and content moderation, toxic behavior can be detected in real time, and automated bans can be enforced. The tool can detect inappropriate images and content and includes speech recognition to detect derogatory or hateful language.In gaming, AI content moderation analyzes player interactions in real time to detect toxic behavior, harmful content, and policy violations. Machine learning models assess chat, voice, and in-game media against predefined rules, flagging or blocking inappropriate content. For example, let’s say a player is struggling with in-game harassment and cheating. With AI-powered moderation tools, chat logs and gameplay behavior are analyzed in real time, identifying toxic players for automated bans. This results in healthier in-game communities, improved player retention, and a more pleasant user experience.Stopping cybercriminals from ruining the gaming experienceAnother factor negatively impacting the gaming experience on a larger scale is cyberattacks. Our recent Radar Report showed that the gaming industry experienced the highest number of DDoS attacks in the last quarter of 2024. The sector is also vulnerable to bot abuse, API attacks, data theft, and account hijacking.Prolonged downtime damages a studio’s reputation—something hackers know all too well. As a result, gaming platforms are prime targets for ransomware, extortion, and data breaches. Cybercriminals target both servers and individual players’ personal information. This naturally leads to a drop in player engagement and widespread frustration.Luckily, security solutions can be put in place to protect gamers from this kind of intrusion:DDoS protection shields game servers from volumetric and targeted attacks, guaranteeing uptime even during high-profile launches. In the event of an attack, malicious traffic is mitigated in real-time, preventing zero downtime and guaranteeing seamless player experiences.WAAP secures game APIs and web services from bot abuse, credential stuffing, and data breaches. It protects against in-game fraud, exploits, and API vulnerabilities.Edge security solutions reduce latency, protecting players without affecting game performance. The Gcore security stack helps ensure fair play, protecting revenue and player retention.Take the first steps to protecting your customersGaming should be a positive and fun experience, not fraught with harassment, bullying, and the threat of cybercrime. Harmful and disruptive behaviors can make it feel unsafe for everyone to play as they wish. That’s why gaming studios should consider how to implement the right technology to help players feel protected.Gcore was founded in 2014 with a focus on the gaming industry. Over the years, we have thwarted many large DDoS attacks and continue to offer robust protection for companies such as Nitrado, Saber, and Wargaming. Our gaming specialization has also led us to develop game-specific countermeasures. If you’d like to learn more about how our cybersecurity solutions for gaming can help you, get in touch.Speak to our gaming solutions experts today
Gcore and Northern Data Group partner to transform global AI deployment
Gcore and Northern Data Group have joined forces to launch a new chapter in enterprise AI. By combining high-performance infrastructure with intelligent software, the commercial and technology partnership will make it dramatically easier to deploy AI applications at scale—wherever your users are. At the heart of this exciting new partnership is a shared vision: global, low-latency, secure AI infrastructure that’s simple to use and ready for production.Introducing the Intelligence Delivery NetworkAI adoption is accelerating, but infrastructure remains a major bottleneck. Many enterprises discover blockers regarding latency, compliance, and scale, especially when deploying models in multiple regions. The traditional cloud approach often introduces complexity and overhead just when speed and simplicity matter most.That’s where the Intelligence Delivery Network (IDN) comes in.The IDN is a globally distributed AI network built to simplify inference at the edge. It combines Northern Data’s state-of-the-art infrastructure with Gcore Everywhere Inference to deliver scalable, high-performance AI across 180 global points of presence.By locating AI workloads closer to end users, the IDN reduces latency and improves responsiveness—without compromising on security or compliance. Its geo-zoned, geo-balanced architecture ensures resilience and data locality while minimizing deployment complexity.A full AI deployment toolkitThe IDN is a full AI deployment toolkit built on Gcore’s cloud-native platform. The solution offers a vertically integrated stack designed for speed, flexibility, and scale. Key components include the following:Managed Kubernetes for orchestrationA container-based deployment engine (Docker)An extensive model library, supporting open-source and custom modelsEverywhere Inference, Gcore’s software for distributing inferencing across global edge points of presenceThis toolset enables fast, simple deployments of AI workloads—with built-in scaling, resource management, and observability. The partnership also unlocks access to one of the world’s largest liquid-cooled GPU clusters, giving AI teams the horsepower they need for demanding workloads.Whether you’re building a new AI-powered product or scaling an existing model, the IDN provides a clear path from development to production.Built for scale and performanceThe joint solution is built with the needs of enterprise customers in mind. It supports multi-tenant deployments, integrates with existing cloud-native tools, and prioritizes performance without sacrificing control. Customers gain the flexibility to deploy wherever and however they need, with enterprise-grade security and compliance baked in.Andre Reitenbach, CEO of Gcore, comments, “This collaboration supports Gcore’s mission to connect the world to AI anywhere and anytime. Together, we’re enabling the next generation of AI applications with low latency and massive scale.”“We are combining Northern Data’s heritage of HPC and Data Center infrastructure expertise, with Gcore’s specialization in software innovation and engineering.” says Aroosh Thillainathan, Founder and CEO of Northern Data Group. “This allows us to accelerate our vision of delivering software-enabled AI infrastructure across a globally distributed compute network. This is a key moment in time where the use of AI solutions is evolving, and we believe that this partnership will form a key part of it.”Deploy AI smarter and faster with Gcore and Northern Data GroupAI is the new foundation of digital business. Deploying it globally shouldn’t require a team of infrastructure engineers. With Gcore and Northern Data Group, enterprise teams get the tools and support they need to run AI at the edge at scale and at speed.No matter what you and your teams are trying to achieve with AI, the new Intelligence Delivery Network is built to help you deploy smarter and faster.Read the full press release
The rise of DDoS attacks on Minecraft and gaming
The gaming industry is a prime target for distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, which flood servers with malicious traffic to disrupt gameplay. These attacks can cause server outages, leading to player frustration, and financial losses.Minecraft, one of the world’s most popular games with 166 million monthly players, is no exception. But this isn’t just a Minecraft problem. From Call of Duty to GTA, gaming servers worldwide face relentless DDoS attacks as the most-targeted industry, costing game publishers and server operators millions in lost revenue.This article explores what’s driving this surge in gaming-related DDoS attacks, and what lessons can be learned from Minecraft’s experience.How DDoS attacks have disrupted MinecraftMinecraft’s open-ended nature makes it a prime testing ground for cyberattacks. Over the years, major Minecraft servers have been taken down by large-scale DDoS incidents:MCCrash botnet attack: A cross-platform botnet targeted private Minecraft servers, crashing thousands of them in minutes.Wynncraft MC DDoS attack: A Mirai botnet variant launched a multi-terabit DDoS attack on a large Minecraft server. Players could not connect, disrupting gameplay and forcing the server operators to deploy emergency mitigation efforts to restore service.SquidCraft Game attack: DDoS attackers disrupted a Twitch Rivals tournament, cutting off an entire competing team.Why are Minecraft servers frequent DDoS targets?DDoS attacks are widespread in the gaming industry, but certain factors make gaming servers especially vulnerable. Unlike other online services, where brief slowdowns might go unnoticed, even a few milliseconds of lag in a competitive game can ruin the experience. Attackers take advantage of this reliance on stability, using DDoS attacks to create chaos, gain an unfair edge, or even extort victims.Gaming communities rely on always-on availabilityUnlike traditional online services, multiplayer games require real-time responsiveness. A few seconds of lag can ruin a match, and server downtime can send frustrated players to competitors. Attackers exploit this pressure, launching DDoS attacks to disrupt gameplay, extort payments, or damage reputations.How competitive gaming fuels DDoS attacksUnlike other industries where cybercriminals seek financial gain, many gaming DDoS attacks are fueled by rivalry. Attackers might:Sabotage online tournaments by forcing competitors offline.Target popular streamers, making their live games unplayable.Attack rival servers to drive players elsewhere.Minecraft has seen all of these scenarios play out.The rise of DDoS-for-hire servicesDDoS attacks used to require technical expertise. Now, DDoS-as-a-service platforms offer attacks for as little as $10 per hour, making it easier than ever to disrupt gaming servers. The increasing accessibility of these attacks is a growing concern, especially as large-scale incidents continue to emerge.How gaming companies can defend against DDoS attacksWhile attacks are becoming more sophisticated, effective defenses do exist. By implementing proactive security measures, gaming companies can minimize risks and maintain uninterrupted gameplay for customers. Here are four key strategies to protect gaming servers from DDoS attacks.#1 Deploy always-on DDoS protectionGame publishers and server operators need real-time, automated DDoS mitigation. Gcore DDoS Protection analyzes traffic patterns, filters malicious requests, and keeps gaming servers online, even during an attack. In July 2024, Gcore mitigated a massive 1 Tbps DDoS attack on Minecraft servers, highlighting how gaming platforms remain prime targets. While the exact source of such attacks isn’t always straightforward, their frequency and intensity reinforce the need for robust security measures to protect gaming communities from service disruptions.#2 Strengthen network securityGaming companies can reduce attack surfaces in the following ways:Using rate limiting to block excessive requestsImplementing firewalls and intrusion detection systemsObfuscating server IPs to prevent attackers from finding them#3 Educate players and moderatorsSince many DDoS attacks come from within gaming communities, education is key. Server admins, tournament organizers, and players should be trained to recognize and report suspicious behavior.#4 Monitor for early attack indicatorsDDoS attacks often start with warning signs: sudden traffic spikes, frequent disconnections, or network slowdowns. Proactive monitoring can help stop attacks before they escalate.Securing the future of online gamingDDoS attacks against Minecraft servers are part of a broader trend affecting the gaming industry. Whether driven by competition, extortion, or sheer disruption, these attacks compromise gameplay, frustrate players, and cause financial losses. Learning from Minecraft’s challenges can help server operators and game developers build stronger defenses and prevent similar attacks across all gaming platforms.While proactive measures like traffic monitoring and server hardening are essential, investing in purpose-built DDoS protection is the most effective way to guarantee uninterrupted gameplay and protect gaming communities. Gcore provides advanced, multi-layered DDoS protection specifically designed for gaming servers, including countermeasures tailored to Minecraft and other gaming servers. With a deep understanding of the industry’s security challenges, we help server owners keep their platforms secure, responsive, and resilient—no matter the type of attack.Want to take the next step in securing your gaming servers?Download our ultimate guide to preventing Minecraft DDoS
How AI enhances bot protection and anti-automation measures
Bots and automated attacks have become constant issues for organizations across industries, threatening everything from website availability to sensitive customer data. As these attacks become increasingly sophisticated, traditional bot mitigation methods struggle to keep pace. Businesses face a growing need to protect their applications, APIs, and data without diminishing the efficiency of essential automated parts and bots that enhance user experiences.That’s where AI comes in. AI-enabled WAAP is a game-changing solution that marries the adaptive intelligence of AI with information gleaned from historical data. This means WAAP can detect and neutralize malicious bot and anti-automation activity with unprecedented precision. Read on to discover how.The bot problem: why automation threats are growingJust a decade ago, use cases for AI and bots were completely different than they are today. While some modern use cases are benign, such as indexing search engines or helping to monitor website performance, malicious bots account for a large proportion of web traffic. Malicious bots have grown from simple machines that follow scripts to complex creations that can convincingly simulate human behaviors.What makes bots particularly dangerous is their ability to evade detection by mimicking human-like patterns. Simple measures like CAPTCHA tests or IP blocking no longer suffice. Businesses need more intelligent systems capable of identifying and mitigating these evolving threats without impacting real users.Defeating automation threats with AI and machine learningToday’s bots don’t just click on links. They fake human activity convincingly, and defeating them involves a lot more than just simple detection. Battling modern bots requires fighting fire with fire by implementing machine learning and AI to create defensive strategies such as blocking credential stuffing, blocking data scraping, and performing behavioral tagging and profiling.Blocking credential stuffingCredential stuffing is a form of attack in which stolen login credentials are used to gain access to user accounts. AI/ML systems can identify such an attack by patterns, including multiple failed logins or logins from unusual locations. These systems learn with each new attempt, strengthening their defenses after every attack attempt.Data scraping blockingScraping bots can harvest everything from pricing data to intellectual property. AI models detect these through the repetitive patterns of requests or abnormally high frequencies of interactions. Unlike basic anti-scraping tools, AI learns new ways that scraping is done, keeping businesses one step ahead.Behavioral tagging and profilingAI-powered systems are quite good at analyzing user behavior. They study the tendencies of session parameters, IP addresses, and interaction rates. For instance, most regular users save session data, while bots do not prioritize this action. The AI system flags suspicious behavior and highlights the user in question for review.These systems also count the recurrence of certain actions, such as clicks or requests. The AI is supposed to build an in-depth profile for every IP or user and find something out of the ordinary to suggest a way to block or throttle the traffic.IP rescoring for smarter detectionOne of the unique capabilities of AI-driven bot protection is Dynamic IP Scoring. Based on external behavior data and threat intelligence, each incoming IP is accorded a risk score. For example, an IP displaying a number of failed login attempts could be suspicious. If it persists, that score worsens, and the system blocks the traffic.This dynamic scoring system does not focus on mere potential threats. It also allows IPs to “recover” if their behavior normalizes, reducing false positives and helping to ensure that real users are not inadvertently blocked.Practical insights: operationalizing AI-driven bot protectionImplementing AI/ML-driven bot protection requires an understanding of both the technology and the operational context in which it’s deployed. Businesses can take advantage of several unique features offered by platforms like Gcore WAAP:Tagging system synergy: Technology-generated tags, like the Gcore Tagging and Analysis Classification and Tagging (TACT) engine, are used throughout the platform to enforce fine-grained security policies and share conclusions and information between various solution components. Labeling threats allows users to easily track potential threats, provides input for ML analysis, and contributes data to an attacker profile that can be applied and acted on globally. This approach ensures an interlinked approach in which all components interact to mitigate threats effectively.Scalable defense mechanisms: With businesses expanding their online footprints, platforms like Gcore scale seamlessly to accommodate new users and applications. The cloud-based architecture makes continuous learning and adaptation possible, which is critical to long-term protection against automation threats.Cross-domain knowledge sharing: One of the salient features of Gcore WAAP is cross-domain functionality, which means the platform can draw from a large shared database of user behavior and threat intelligence. Even newly onboarded users immediately benefit from the insights gained by the platform from its historical data and are protected against previously encountered threats.Security insights: Gcore WAAP’s Security Insights feature provides visibility into security configurations and policy enforcement, helping users identify disabled policies that may expose them to threats. While the platform’s tagging system, powered by the TACT engine, classifies traffic and identifies potential risks, separate microservices handle policy recommendations and mitigation strategies. This functionality reduces the burden on security teams while enhancing overall protection.API discovery and protection: API security is among the most targeted entry points for automated attacks due to APIs’ ability to open up data exchange between applications. Protecting APIs requires advanced capabilities that can accurately identify suspicious activities without disrupting legitimate traffic. Gcore WAAP’s API discovery engine achieves this with a 97–99% accuracy rate, leveraging AI/ML to detect and prevent threats.Leveraging collective intelligence: Gcore WAAP’s cross-domain functionality creates a shared database of known threats and behaviors, allowing data from one client to protect the entire customer base. New users benefit immediately from the platform’s historical insights, bypassing lengthy learning curves. For example, a flagged suspicious IP can be automatically blocked across the network for faster, more efficient protection.Futureproof your security with Gcore’s AI-enabled WAAPBusinesses are constantly battling increasingly sophisticated botnet threats and have to be much more proactive regarding their security mechanisms. AI and machine learning have become integral to fighting bot-driven attacks, providing an unprecedented level of precision and flexibility that no traditional security systems can keep up with. With advanced behavior analysis, adaptive threat models, and cross-domain knowledge sharing, Gcore WAAP establishes new standards of bot protection.Curious to learn more about WAAP? Check out our ebook for cybersecurity best practices, the most common threats to look out for, and how WAAP can safeguard your businesses’ digital assets. Or, get in touch with our team to learn more about Gcore WAAP.Learn why WAAP is essential for modern businesses with a free ebook
How to choose the right technology tools to combat digital piracy
One of the biggest challenges facing the media and entertainment industry is digital piracy, where stolen content is redistributed without authorization. This issue causes significant revenue and reputational losses for media companies. Consumers who use these unregulated services also face potential threats from malware and other security risks.Governments, regulatory bodies, and private organizations are increasingly taking the ramifications of digital piracy seriously. In the US, new legislation has been proposed that would significantly crack down on this type of activity, while in Europe, cloud providers are being held liable by the courts for enabling piracy. Interpol and authorities in South Korea have also teamed up to stop piracy in its tracks.In the meantime, you can use technology to help stop digital piracy and safeguard your company’s assets. This article explains anti-piracy technology tools that can help content providers, streaming services, and website owners safeguard their proprietary media: geo-blocking, digital rights management (DRM), secure tokens, and referrer validation.Geo-blockingGeo-blocking (or country access policy) restricts access to content based on a user’s geographic location, preventing unauthorized access and limiting content distribution to specific regions. It involves setting rules to allow or deny access based on the user’s IP address and location in order to comply with regional laws or licensing agreements.Pros:Controls access by region so that content is only available in authorized marketsHelps comply with licensing agreementsCons:Can be bypassed with VPNs or proxiesRequires additional security measures to be fully effectiveTypical use cases: Geo-blocking is used by streaming platforms to restrict access to content, such as sports events or film premieres, based on location and licensing agreements. It’s also helpful for blocking services in high-risk areas but should be used alongside other anti-piracy tools for better and more comprehensive protection.Referrer validationReferrer validation is a technique that checks where a content request is coming from and prevents unauthorized websites from directly linking to and using content. It works by checking the “referrer” header sent by the browser to determine the source of the request. If the referrer is from an unauthorized domain, the request is blocked or redirected. This allows only trusted sources to access your content.Pros:Protects bandwidth by preventing unauthorized access and misuse of resourcesGuarantees content is only accessed by trusted sources, preventing piracy or abuseCons:Can accidentally block legitimate requests if referrer headers are not correctly sentMay not work as intended if users access content via privacy-focused methods that strip referrer data, leading to false positivesTypical use cases: Content providers commonly use referrer validation to prevent unauthorized streaming or hotlinking, which involves linking to media from another website or server without the owner’s permission. It’s especially useful for streamers who want to make sure their content is only accessed through their official platforms. However, it should be combined with other security measures for more substantial protection.Secure tokensSecure tokens and protected temporary links provide enhanced security by granting temporary access to specific resources so only authorized users can access sensitive content. Secure tokens are unique identifiers that, when linked to a user’s account, allow them to access protected resources for a limited time. Protected temporary links further restrict access by setting expiration dates, meaning the link becomes invalid after a set time.Pros:Provides a high level of security by allowing only authorized users to access contentTokens are time-sensitive, which prevents unauthorized access after they expireHarder to circumvent compared to traditional password protection methodsCons:Risk of token theft if they’re not managed or stored securelyRequires ongoing management and rotation of tokens, adding complexityCan be challenging to implement properly, especially in high-traffic environmentsTypical use cases: Streaming platforms use secure tokens and protected temporary links so only authenticated users can access premium content, like movies or live streams. They are also useful for secure file downloads or limiting access to exclusive resources, making them effective for protecting digital content and preventing unauthorized sharing or piracy.Digital rights managementDigital rights management (DRM) refers to a set of technologies designed to protect digital content from unauthorized use so that only authorized users can access, copy, or share it, according to licensing agreements. DRM uses encryption, licensing, and authentication mechanisms to control access to digital resources so that only authorized users can view or interact with the content. While DRM offers strong protection against piracy, it comes with higher complexity and setup costs than other security methods.Pros:Robust protection against unauthorized copying, sharing, and piracyHelps safeguard intellectual property and revenue streamsEnforces compliance with licensing agreementsCons:Can be complex and expensive to implementMay cause inconvenience for users, such as limiting playback on unauthorized devices or restricting sharingPotential system vulnerabilities or compatibility issuesTypical use cases: DRM is commonly used by streaming services to protect movies, TV shows, and music from piracy. It can also be used for e-books, software, and video games, ensuring that content is only used by licensed users according to the terms of the agreement. DRM solutions can vary, from software-based solutions for media files to hardware-based or cloud-based DRM for more secure distribution.Protect your content from digital piracy with GcoreDigital piracy remains a significant challenge for the media and entertainment industry as it poses risks in terms of both revenue and security. To combat this, partnering with a cloud provider that can actively monitor and protect your digital assets through advanced multi-layer security measures is essential.At Gcore, our CDN and streaming solutions give rights holders peace of mind that their assets are protected, offering the features mentioned in this article and many more besides. We also offer advanced cybersecurity tools, including WAAP (web application and API protection) and DDoS protection, which further integrate with and enhance these security measures. We provide trial limitations for streamers to curb piracy attempts and respond swiftly to takedown requests from rights holders and authorities, so you can rest assured that your assets are in safe hands.Get in touch to learn more about combatting digital piracy
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