This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Ksea
In today’s unstoppable wave of global digitalization, the Chinese market is undoubtedly a strategic high ground for overseas enterprises seeking growth. Its vast user base, active digital ecosystem, and growing consumption power attract countless overseas platforms eager to enter. However, this land of opportunity also comes with its unique challenges, especially in the realm of cybersecurity. For you, preparing to enter the Chinese market in 2025, clearly understanding and effectively addressing the specific security threats here is crucial for ensuring stable business development and earning user trust.
This article will delve into the common cybersecurity threats that overseas platforms may face in the Chinese market and explore how key tools like Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) can serve as an effective line of defense against these threats. We will also point out the core metrics to focus on when evaluating your security strategy, helping you prepare thoroughly for a successful “entry into China.”
Common Security Threats Faced by Overseas Platforms in the Chinese Market
While global cybersecurity risks remain an important consideration, overseas platforms entering China also need to pay special attention to the following security threats, which may be more prominent or evolve in the local environment:
DDoS Attacks: In the Chinese market, DDoS attacks can be more complex and larger in scale. In addition to traditional volumetric attacks, application-layer (Layer 7) attacks targeting specific web application vulnerabilities are more common. These attacks are harder to defend against and have a greater impact on business operations. Localized DDoS attacks are often more targeted and may be related to commercial competition or specific events.
Malicious Bots and Automated Traffic: Malicious bot traffic may be more active in the Chinese market. From credential stuffing (attempting to log in with leaked username and password combinations) and content scraping (used to steal content or business intelligence) to ticket scalping, fake reviews, and inflated traffic, automated bot traffic accounts for a large portion of overall internet traffic. The malicious portion poses a serious threat to platform operational order and data security.
API Vulnerabilities: As websites and mobile applications increasingly rely on APIs for data exchange and feature implementation, these interfaces have become prime targets for attackers. In China, the integration of numerous third-party services can introduce additional API risk points, allowing the exploitation of less secure API endpoints.
Supply Chain Attacks: These attacks compromise third-party resources that a website relies on, such as integrated third-party JavaScript libraries, advertising SDKs, data analytics tools, or payment interfaces. In China’s complex digital ecosystem, selecting reliable third-party partners and continuously auditing their security is crucial.
How CDNs Function as a Security Tool
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) were initially created to accelerate content delivery by caching website assets across a globally distributed network of servers, thereby improving access speed. However, for overseas platforms entering the Chinese market, CDNs have evolved into an indispensable line of cybersecurity defense for the following reasons:
Strategic Geographic Positioning: CDNs are positioned between your website’s origin server and Chinese users, allowing them to inspect and filter traffic before it reaches your core infrastructure. Specifically, CDN providers for China have nodes deployed within the country, which can effectively filter malicious traffic.
Distributed Defense Architecture: A CDN’s globally distributed network, while accelerating content delivery, also provides powerful DDoS attack defense capabilities by absorbing and dispersing malicious traffic. Even when facing large-scale local DDoS attacks, CDNs can effectively mitigate them, preventing the attacks from directly impacting overseas origin servers.
Advanced Traffic Analysis Capabilities: Modern CDNs continuously analyze traffic patterns, enabling them to identify anomalous behavior that may indicate an attack in real-time, such as unusually high request frequencies, illegitimate request patterns, or connections from suspicious IPs, thereby issuing warnings or automatically blocking them.
Rule-Based Intelligent Filtering: CDNs can consistently and efficiently apply security rules (such as Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules) across their entire network, blocking malicious requests before they reach your origin server. This is especially important for defending against common web application layer attacks.
Key Website Security Metrics
The following key security metrics are crucial for website security for overseas platforms in the Chinese market:
- Time to Mitigate: How quickly your security solution can identify and respond to various cyberattacks. In China’s complex network environment, a rapid response means minimizing business disruption.
- False Positive Rate: The frequency with which legitimate user requests are incorrectly identified as malicious traffic and blocked. An excessively high false positive rate can severely impact user experience and lead to user churn.
- SSL/TLS Implementation Strength: The strength of your data encryption and the level of your certificate management. In China, ensuring compliant and strong HTTPS encryption is fundamental to securing data transmission and user trust.
- Bot Detection Accuracy: The ability to distinguish between legitimate automated traffic (e.g., search engine crawlers) and malicious bots (e.g., scrapers, scalpers, cheating programs). Accurate bot identification effectively protects website resources and business logic.
Conclusion
Entering the Chinese market as an overseas platform presents both opportunities and challenges. Facing unique cybersecurity threats, fully understanding and effectively utilizing tools like CDNs to build your defenses, while continuously monitoring these key security metrics, will help your platform operate stably in the Chinese market and earn user trust.
To successfully “enter China,” a secure and reliable online environment is an indispensable preparation. We deeply understand local user habits and network environments in China. Consult our experts for more stable, compliant, and tailored security solutions that better meet your needsContact EdgeOne
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Ksea