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European Gaming says the global gaming market cap will touch US$ 268.8 billion by 2025. Statista reports that the global gaming market of every region is increasing significantly, making it the prime target of cybercriminals. However, precautions like gaming license penetration testing can help protect this high-potential market from cybercriminals. This article will thoroughly explain gaming license penetration testing, its various phases, and the techniques involved. 

What is Gaming License Penetration Testing?

Licensed penetration testing is a technique where hackers and security professionals perform security testing on the app by taking the organization's license and authority. Gaming license penetration testing deals with gaming applications and servers. According to Tech Navio's study, the global gaming market will surge at an accelerated compound annual growth rate of 7.31%. These high numbers often lure cybercriminals to exploit gaming servers and applications to take away all the monetary profits from gaming companies. 

These gaming servers and apps hold information about their gamers (users). Thus, to protect these publicly exposed gaming systems and apps, gaming firms must take adequate security measures. A gaming license penetration test is one security measure that can help preemptively target exploitable flaws.

Why is it important to prevent a breach?

Any breach in the gaming system can trigger several problems. Some are:

• It can cause a malfunction in the game and deteriorate the gaming experience. 

• Any cyber attack on the gaming servers or app (due to weaknesses or flaws in the code) can lead to interruptions in gaming. Such disruption can cause massive monetary loss to the business.

• It can shatter the brand's reputation and erode the customer/gamers' trust.

• Often, a cyber attack makes the players leave the platform. Such reactions are likely when a gamer feels the platform is vulnerable, and they may lose all their gaming assets and points.

• Players stop using credit cards and other digital finance systems to buy gaming assets and points, which can tank a business.

These are only a few reasons gaming industries need to adopt the Gaming License Penetration Testing principles to cater to comprehensive security. The following section will highlight some requirements of Gaming License Penetration Testing followed by the Gaming Commission of Ontario.

Security assessment for publicly exposed gaming systems

All gaming companies that release publicly exposed games must consider data protection and adequate security measures to prevent the integrity of users. Each gaming license penetration testing must include the minimum following assessments:

• Use SAST for source code analysis: Gaming firms should perform gaming license penetration testing by implementing Static Application Security Testing (SAST) tools. This step will help them analyze the data flow between the gaming app, API, and server(s). They should recognize data-entry points and outline all user-controllable data from them. The pen testers should also uncover vulnerabilities in the code and exploit them to understand the attack chain. After analyzing the app, specific codebase areas, and associated systems manually, they should report the results of the automated tools.

• Pentesting with DAST: The gaming license pentesters should also perform Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST). This test will identify vulnerabilities like unauthorized authentications and remove false positives or bugs that can reveal source codes. The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) says, "The result/report of the assessment must be provided after approval & deployment of the Gaming System, but before the Gaming System goes live."

• Gaming enterprises synchronize all the network components for network security and preserve logging or auditing capabilities. According to AGCO, security professionals must design network infrastructure with proper tools to monitor and prevent a large volume of communications from security incidents or integrity issues.

Phases of gaming licensed penetration testing

All gaming license penetration testing must go through three phases:

• Passive phase:

  Here, the gaming license pentesters determine the project scope. The pen testers perform reconnaissance & analysis to understand the architecture associated with the gaming system.

• Active phase:

  Pen testers dig into the system and exploit them with tools and manually based on the previous analysis and findings. This phase accounts for up to 80% of the gaming license penetration test cycle.

• Reporting:

  After exploiting and documenting the extensive vulnerabilities, the pen testers create the report. Based on those reports, the security professionals and application security engineers apply fixes.

To learn more visit:

• https://www.agco.ca/content/14-security-assessments-publicly-exposed-gaming-systems

• https://www.agco.ca/lottery-and-gaming/guides/7-electronic-lottery-system-environment-and-deployment

Conclusion

The gaming license penetration testing comprises various components for checking servers, game apps/codes, API integrations, game-asset marketplace, and web applications. We hope this article offered a comprehensive understanding of the need for gaming license penetration testing, Ontario Gaming Pentest requirements, and the disruptions a cyber attack can cause.

To learn more about security for your gaming systems or leverage gaming license penetration testing, contact the Packetlabs team today!