Content Delivery Network (CDN) and Security Trends for 2023
Content Delivery Networks (CDN) have come a long way since the creation of the service provider category at the turn of the century during the wild west days of e-commerce websites and video delivery. The CDN market has grown swiftly in the last few years, requiring security. CDN has also built a three-dimensional protection system based on an edge cloud’s security network. But safety is essential to protect data and other vital aspects. So, in this blog, we take a look at the CDN and security trends for the current year, 2023.
What is CDN?
CDN is the geographically distributed group of connected services that work together to provide fast delivery of internet content to users. It allows the quick transfer of any internet content and facilitates smooth loading. There is a significant rise in the demand for CDN providers due to the surge in the popularity of streaming services, social networks and online gaming platforms.
CDN and Security
CDN can help protect websites against common malicious attacks like Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks when configured correctly. CDN security protects against unwanted interference by external factors with your website users. You can enhance your website experience by implementing a safer and more secure content delivery through your network.
In its multiple forms, CDN security is specifically designed to protect data in the delivery process from theft and loss. All this is done without compromising the user’s overall internet browsing experience. As more and more CDN operators are transitioning to cloud-based servers, security in data delivery is of utmost importance.
CDN Security Trends to Focus On
Early CDNs were designed to help enterprise customers’ website operations withstand heavy traffic volume. They also withstood DDoS attacks by distributing requests for content across their extensive networks. Using the current technological enhancements, here are a few novel security trends and applications for 2023:
- Web Application Firewall (WAF)
Alone, CDNs are immensely vulnerable to attackers. You can counter that with a web application firewall (WAF), which works like a barrier between your website’s content and the internet. They can monitor and block any HTTP(s) traffic exhibiting warning signs in security, seamlessly allowing access to good website traffic. Many businesses use WAFs with their CDN servers to significantly increase their website’s security. In 2020, the global web application firewall market was valued at $3.9 billion. However, it is projected to reach $25.6 billion by 2030. - Bot Mitigation & Screen Scraping Protection
Screen scraping, also known as data scraping, refers to the process in which information on digital displays is copied and used for other purposes, including texts or images. Screen scraping can be performed either manually or automatically using software or bots. Therefore, it has several uses for ethical and unethical purposes, especially in banking.
To prevent scraping, it is essential to implement the following:
- Rate limiting: To limit the rate at which the clients can make requests to the server
- Identify automated traffic: By finding non-humanlike patterns in web traffic.
- Known malicious identifiers: To reject requests from other malicious entities.
- Data Security
As CDN sits between web servers and outside users, they play a vital role in protecting data from external security threats. They leverage reverse proxy technology to ward off threats like DDoS floods before they even enter the network. They also keep your website’s data secure by:
- Load Balancing
The CDN is also capable of load balancing as it is the default recipient of the traffic flow and has enhanced visibility into the incoming traffic. Thus, it can gauge pending requests on every server. It also distributes the traffic load effectively, preventing an overload of requests. - Encryption layer
Enterprise-grade CDN security includes an encryption layer to protect against network crashes, on-path attacks, data breaches, etc. When used with updated TLS/ SSL certificates, it handles the encryption and decryption steps related to the TLS protocols, reducing the latency involved in the initial stages and optimizing SSL security. - Edge Protection
Being placed at the network edge, CDN stands between the web server and the incoming server and is ideal for stopping threats before they reach the website. It is important to note that CDN can balance loads and prevent traffic from reaching the origin server or overwhelming it with voluminous requests.
- Load Balancing
- DNS Protection
CDN works with DNS by caching content at DNS servers around the world. DNS protection provides an extra protective layer between a user and the internet by blocking dangerous sites and filtering out unwanted content. It also helps prevent unnecessary risks and the potential for malicious attacks. - SSL Certificates
SSL Certificates also have a significant impact on improving the security of your website in addition to CDN. If your website collects user information or implements processes that require personal details like credit card payments, it is essential to have an SSL certificate. It is also imperative to ensure that your CDN is compatible with the certificate to ensure complete data encryption.
While the global CDN market size was valued at USD 14560.0 million in 2021, it is expected to expand and reach USD 35370.0 million by 2027. In the current year, 2023, it is essential to secure all your networks by choosing the right security provider. You can also search for a reliable company that offers advanced CDN security services that align with your requirements.