Data Security and Encryption in Platforms

Introduction

In online casinos, the security of user and financial data is critical to player confidence, compliance, and business sustainability. The platform architecture should provide protection at every layer, from the network perimeter to the internal data layer. The following are the basic principles and methods for implementing reliable encryption and access control.

1. Threat model and areas of responsibility

1. Threat Model:

• Traffic interception (MITM), sniffing attacks.
• Data leakage from the database (SQL injection, hacking of accounts).
• Internal threats (attacker with access to servers).
2. Areas of responsibility:
• Client side → SSL verification, XSS/CSRF protection.
• Border gateways → WAF, IDS/IPS, VPN.
• Internal services → network segmentation, Zero Trust.
• Data storage → encryption and secret management.

2. Data encryption in transmission

TLS 1. 3 is required on all channels (HTTPS, WSS, SMTP/IMAP).
Standard practices:
• EV or OV certificates, regular rotation (Let's Encrypt, commercial CAs).
• HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) with preload flag.
• Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) is a set of ECDHE + AES-GCM/ChaCha20-Poly1305 ciphers.
Inter-service connections:
• Mutual TLS for internal API calls between microservices.
• VPN (IPsec) or service mesh (Istio) to encrypt traffic within the cluster.

3. Encrypt data in storage

1. At the disk and volume level:
• Full Disk Encryption (LUKS на Linux, BitLocker на Windows).
• Encryption of cloud disks (AWS EBS-encryption, Azure Disk Encryption).
2. At the DBMS level:
• Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) в PostgreSQL (pgcrypto), Microsoft SQL, Oracle.
• Column-level encryption for critical fields (card number, personal information) managed through key containers.
3. Application-level encryption:
• Encryption of sensitive fields in the code before writing to the database (AES-GCM with nonce).
• Tokenization of payment details: replacing real data with random tokens and storing mapping in a secure service.

4. Key and HSM Management

Centralized key storage:
• HashiCorp Vault, AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault, Google Cloud KMS.
• Separation of roles: developers, administrators, auditors.
Hardware Security Modules (HSMs):
• FIPS 140-2 Level 3/4: Generate and store keys outside the application server.
• Transaction signing and decryption takes place inside the HSM, the keys do not leave the protected module.
Key rotation:
• Automatic rotation every 90-180 days and immediate rotation on suspicion of compromise.
• Multi-version key support for seamless updating.

5. Access control and audit

1. Authentication and authorization:
• MFA (two-factor authentication) for admins and critical services.
• RBAC/ABAC: strict access policies by user roles and attributes.
2. Logs and audits:
• Centralized logging (ELK/EFK, Splunk): recording of access attempts, key operations, access to encrypted data.
• Immutable logs (WORM): audit trail storage for at least 1 year.
3. Zero Trust and Network Segmentation:
• Minimizing rights: each service interacts only with the components it needs.
• VLAN segmentation and security groups in the cloud.

6. Protection against common vulnerabilities

SQL injection and XSS: parameterized queries, ORM, CSP policies.
CSRF: disposable tokens, SameSite cookies.
Injections into OS commands: whitelisting, verification and shielding of input parameters.
Secure development: static code analysis (SAST), dynamic analysis (DAST), regular pentest.

7. Encrypt backups and data transfers between data centers

Backup: encrypting backups using AES-256, storing keys separately from backup files.
Replication and DR: TLS-protected channels for data transfer between data centers, VPN tunnels, SSH tunnels.

8. Compliance with standards and regulations

PCI DSS: requirements for storing and transferring card data, tokenization, QSA audits.
GDPR: protection of personal data of players, the possibility of "forgetting" data, Pseudonymization.
ISO/IEC 27001: ISMS implementation, risk management and continuous improvement.
eCOGRA and GLI: special requirements for RNG modules and security audit.

9. Security Monitoring and Incident Response

SIEM systems: security event correlation, anomaly detection and incident reporting.
IDS/IPS detection of suspicious traffic and automatic blocking.
Incident Response Plan (IRP): clear procedures for notifying personnel and regulators, a recovery plan and public communications.

10. Implementation Recommendations

1. Prioritization of protection: start with critical data (financial transactions, personal data).
2. DevSecOps: Integration of security scanning and encryption testing into the CI/CD pipeline.
3. Staff training: regular security training, phishing tests.
4. Regular reviews and audits: External audits of encryption and access policies at least 1 times per year.

Conclusion

A comprehensive data security and encryption strategy in online casino platforms includes several layers: a secure perimeter, encryption at all stages of transfer and storage, key management using HSM, strict access control and continuous audit. Compliance with industry standards (PCI DSS, ISO 27001) and the implementation of the DevSecOps approach ensure reliable player protection and business stability in a highly competitive and regulated industry.