Running a game server means running a public-facing service on the internet. The moment your server shows up in a browser list or your community shares the IP, you become a target. Not because you are important, but because automated tools scan the internet constantly, and disgruntled players have access to DDoS services that cost less than your hosting plan.
This guide covers what you need to do to keep your game server secure, available, and recoverable. It is not theoretical. Everything here comes from real incidents I have seen running game server infrastructure.
DDoS Protection
What a DDoS Attack Looks Like on a Game Server
A DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack floods your server with so much traffic that legitimate players cannot connect. For game servers, the most common attack types are:
UDP flood: massive amounts of UDP packets sent to your game port. Since most game servers use UDP, this is the easiest attack vector. The server or its network link gets overwhelmed trying to process garbage packets.
Amplification attacks: the attacker sends small requests to third-party services (DNS, NTP, memcached) spoofed with your server's IP as the source. Those services respond with much larger packets directed at your server. A 10 Mbps attack becomes 500 Mbps of traffic hitting your port.
Application-layer attacks: fake player connections that pass initial protocol checks but waste server resources. These are harder to filter because they look like legitimate traffic at the network level.
What You Can Do
Use a host with DDoS protection built in. This is the single most effective measure. When you are on infrastructure that filters DDoS traffic at the network edge, attacks get absorbed before they reach your server. Trying to handle DDoS at the server level is like trying to stop a flood with a bucket.
All Space-Node hosting plans include DDoS protection through a Cloudflare-protected network. The filtering happens at the network level, not at your server, which means your server does not even see the attack traffic.
Do not share your server's direct IP unnecessarily. If your hosting provider gives you a protected IP or proxy, use that. Players only need the connection address, not the underlying infrastructure IP.
If you self-host at home, seriously reconsider. Your home internet connection has no DDoS protection. A 1 Gbps attack (trivially cheap to buy) will take down your entire home network, not just the game server. Your router, your smart home, your family's Netflix. All of it.
The Reality of DDoS in Gaming
Most game server DDoS attacks come from disgruntled players. Someone gets banned, loses a raid, or has a grudge. They spend $5 on a "stresser" service and hit your server for 10 minutes. On unprotected infrastructure, this is enough to ruin a play session for everyone.
On protected infrastructure, the attack gets filtered and nobody notices. That is the entire value proposition of hosting with a provider that includes DDoS protection. It is not a luxury feature. It is insurance against the most common disruption you will face.
Firewall Configuration
Only Open What You Need
A game server needs very few ports open:
| Purpose | Example ports | Protocol |
|---|---|---|
| Game traffic | 25565, 7777, etc. | UDP or TCP (game-dependent) |
| Query/browser | 25565, 27015, etc. | UDP |
| RCON (admin) | 25575, etc. | TCP |
| Web panel | 8080, 443 | TCP |
Everything else should be closed. Default Linux and Windows installations have many services listening on ports you do not need for a game server.
On Linux with ufw:
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp comment 'SSH'
sudo ufw allow 25565/tcp comment 'Minecraft'
sudo ufw allow 25565/udp comment 'Minecraft'
sudo ufw enable
Adjust ports for your game. The principle is the same: deny everything, then whitelist only what the game needs.
SSH Security
If you manage your server over SSH:
Change the default port. Automated scanners hit port 22 thousands of times per day. Moving SSH to a non-standard port (e.g., 2222 or 22222) stops 99% of automated login attempts.
# In /etc/ssh/sshd_config
Port 22222
Use key-based authentication. Disable password login entirely if you can. SSH keys are virtually immune to brute-force attacks.
# In /etc/ssh/sshd_config
PasswordAuthentication no
PubkeyAuthentication yes
Install fail2ban. It monitors login attempts and temporarily bans IPs that fail too many times.
sudo apt install fail2ban -y
sudo systemctl enable fail2ban
RCON Security
RCON (Remote Console) lets you run server commands remotely. It is also one of the most commonly exploited attack vectors on game servers.
Set a strong RCON password. Not "admin", not "password", not your server name. A random string of 16+ characters.
Restrict RCON to specific IPs if possible. Most game server configs let you whitelist RCON source addresses. If you only administer from your home IP, only allow that IP.
Consider disabling RCON entirely. If you use a web panel (Pterodactyl, AMP, etc.) for administration, RCON is redundant. One less attack surface.
Backups
Why Servers Die
In my experience running game server infrastructure, the leading causes of data loss are:
- Failed updates that corrupt the save file
- Player actions (griefers, accidents, exploits)
- Disk failure on self-hosted hardware
- Human error by the admin (wrong command, deleted wrong file)
- DDoS that crashes the server mid-save, corrupting the write
Notice that "hackers breaking in" is not on this list. It happens, but it is far less common than the mundane causes above. Your backup strategy should protect against the likely scenarios, not the dramatic ones.
The 3-2-1 Rule
A proper backup strategy follows 3-2-1:
- 3 copies of your data (the original + 2 backups)
- 2 different storage types (server disk + external/cloud)
- 1 offsite copy (not on the same machine or in the same data center)
For a game server, this translates to:
- The live save on the server (copy 1)
- An automated backup on the same server in a different directory (copy 2)
- A backup pushed to cloud storage or a different machine (copy 3)
Automated Backup Script
Here is a practical backup script for a Minecraft server (adapt paths for other games):
#!/bin/bash
GAME_DIR="/home/steam/minecraft"
BACKUP_DIR="/home/steam/backups"
CLOUD_BUCKET="s3://my-backups/minecraft"
MAX_LOCAL=7
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M)
BACKUP_FILE="$BACKUP_DIR/minecraft-$DATE.tar.gz"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
tar -czf "$BACKUP_FILE" -C "$GAME_DIR" world world_nether world_the_end
ls -1t "$BACKUP_DIR"/minecraft-*.tar.gz | tail -n +$((MAX_LOCAL+1)) | xargs -r rm
# Optional: push to cloud (requires aws cli configured)
# aws s3 cp "$BACKUP_FILE" "$CLOUD_BUCKET/"
Run it with cron every 6 hours:
0 */6 * * * /home/steam/backup.sh
What to Back Up
Always: world/save data, server configuration files, plugin/mod configurations
Nice to have: plugin data directories (economy databases, permissions), ban lists, whitelist
Skip: the server binary itself (you can re-download it), log files (unless you need them for investigation), cached/temp files
Testing Backups
A backup you have never tested is not a backup. It is a hope. Once a month:
- Copy a backup to a separate directory
- Extract it
- Start a test server pointing at the extracted data
- Verify the world loads and data is intact
- Delete the test instance
This takes 10 minutes and will save you hours when you actually need to restore.
Player Authentication and Moderation
Whitelisting
For private servers, a whitelist is the most effective security measure. Only players you have explicitly approved can connect.
Minecraft: whitelist on in server.properties, then whitelist add PlayerName
FiveM: Steam ID whitelist in server.cfg
Arma Reforger: admin list in server.json
Anti-Cheat
Most game servers have some form of anti-cheat, but its effectiveness varies wildly:
- Minecraft: relies on server-side plugins (NoCheatPlus, Vulcan, Grim). The server validates player movement and actions. Works well when configured properly.
- FiveM: server-side anti-cheat resources plus client-side solutions. The Lua scripting environment means determined cheaters can bypass client-side checks, so server-side validation is critical.
- Source/Unreal Engine games: typically rely on the engine's built-in anti-cheat (VAC, EAC, BattlEye). These are effective but not perfect.
The best anti-cheat is an active admin team. No automated system catches everything. Having moderators who play on the server and can respond to reports is more effective than any plugin.
Ban Management
When you ban a player, ban by their unique identifier (Steam ID, UUID), not by IP. IP bans are ineffective in 2026 because:
- Most players have dynamic IPs that change periodically
- VPNs bypass IP bans trivially
- IP bans can collaterally block innocent players on shared networks (university dorms, etc.)
Steam ID or game-specific UUID bans are tied to the player's account, which is much harder to circumvent.
Hosting Recommendations
Security starts with your hosting choice. A well-configured server on insecure infrastructure is still vulnerable.
What to look for in a host:
- DDoS protection included, not upsold. If DDoS protection is an add-on, it is an afterthought.
- Automated backups. Your host should run backups without you needing to set up cron jobs.
- Isolated environments. Your server should not share resources with other customers in a way that allows cross-contamination.
- Panel with access controls. Pterodactyl (used by Space-Node) supports sub-user permissions, so you can give staff limited access without giving them the server.
Space-Node's game hosting checks all of these: DDoS protection on the Cloudflare-protected network, NVMe storage for reliable saves, Pterodactyl panel with role-based access, and plans sized for every game we support. Whether you run Minecraft, FiveM, Valheim, Palworld, Enshrouded, Arma Reforger, or any other supported game, the security infrastructure is the same.
FAQ
Is my game server going to get DDoS attacked? If it is public and popular enough that someone gets angry, probably yes at some point. It is a question of when, not if. Protected hosting makes this a non-event instead of a crisis.
Should I run my game server behind a VPN? Not usually. A VPN adds latency for all players and complicates the network setup. DDoS protection at the hosting level is a better solution.
How often should I update my server software? Security updates: immediately. Feature updates: after testing. Many game server vulnerabilities are patched in updates. Running an outdated server binary with known exploits is an invitation.
What if someone gets my RCON password? They can execute any server command: ban everyone, delete the world, crash the server. Change the password immediately, check logs for what commands were run, and restore from backup if needed. This is why RCON should be disabled when not actively needed.
Related guides: for game-specific server setup, see our guides for Minecraft 1.22, Satisfactory 1.0, Arma Reforger, Enshrouded, and Windrose. For Minecraft performance, read ZGC vs G1GC.
Is Pterodactyl/Pelican secure? Yes, when properly configured. Both panels use containerized environments (Docker) that isolate each server. Keep the panel software updated and use strong admin credentials. The panel is often the most secure part of the stack because it was designed with multi-tenant security in mind.