Cyber - attacks on online casinos are on the increase

In the actual quarterly report, the company Nexusguard, which is specialised in cyber security, stated, that there was an increase in the number of cyber- attacks on the gambling and gaming sectors. In the large part of the cases it is a so called DDoS-Attack. Whilst most gambling companies are meanwhile well prepared for cyber- attacks, many gaming companies still find it a difficult situation to deal with.

But why has the number of cyber-attacks increased drastically in the third quarter of 2020 and should online-gamblers be afraid, that their money or personal data are used? The renowned company Nexusguard is specialised in cyber-security and meanwhile publishes a report quarterly. This resulted, that in the third quarter of 2020, 76,92 % of all registered DDoS-attacks were on the gaming and gambling industry. The reason being given for the increase in cyber-attacks in this online-industry, is that the number of gamblers is continuously increasing. This makes these addresses then more attractive for cyber-criminals.

Number of DDoS-Attacks increases by 287 %

The analysts of Nexusguard have stated, that the number of DDoS-attacks in the third quarter of 2020 has increased by 287 %, when compared to the same period of the previous year. The security experts insist that the online Gaming-environment offers many targets for potential attackers – especially now during the pandemic. In the last quarter, 45,18 % of the attacks were directed at the online gaming-industry. The rest of the attacks were on the online-gambling providers.

Gambling Industry was and is well-prepared

The fact that that the gambling industry operates in a market handling millions of money, definitely contributed to the fact, that the industry prepared itself in a model way for any cyber-attacks. The international Gambling industry created special protection devices as well as a professional infrastructure, to be able to act effectively and it was a success. Should a particular online-gambling provider be the victim of an attack, those responsible have a number of domains available, including VIP-Domains, which are not detectable. The gamblers therefore do not have to worry that their money can get lost when gambling online or that their personal data can be transferred to third parties. In spite of modern security safeguards, however a 100 % protection can naturally never be guaranteed.

Gaming-Sector: Gamblers attack gamblers

A series of cyber-attacks were not only discovered at online casinos. In the third quarter a number of cyber-attacks, among them many DDoS-attacks, were reported even in the Gaming-Sector. The experiences of Nexusguard show, that a large number of attacks were coming from active gamblers. Their objective is to slow their competitors, so that they have better chances. Since lately more players worldwide are accessing the gaming-servers, the latter were so overloaded, that they were more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. The analysts of Nexusguard stated:

”A large part of the DDoS-Attacks in Online-Gaming were traced to Gamers, who are ready to do anything to win.“

Lately the Gaming-Server of Gameservers.com and Nitrado were very often victims of cyber-attacks. To be more accurate, both Gaming-Servers suffered more than 50,000 attacks in the third quarter.

Cyber attacks on the Gaming-Server in the third quarter of 2020:

• Nitrado: 54,571
• Gameservers.com: 51,815
• Blizzard Entertainment: 13,301
• Electronic Arts: 3,306
• Valve Corporation: 2,701
• Ubisoft Entertainment: 1,889

Source: Nexusguard, Quarterly Report (3rd. Quarer 2020)

Conclusion

The persisting pandemic situation served to make it much easier for cyber- attacks on online casino providers and online gaming companies. The company Nexusguard, specialising in cyber-security could count a significant increase in the number of cyber-attacks in the last quarter when compared to the same period of last year. The majority of the attacks were DDoS-Attacks. These are the “easiest“ form of cyber-attacks and their aim is to bring about the unavailability of a particular internet service, through an aimed overload. From the evaluation, it results, that the gambling industry is optimally prepared for these type of attacks. In recent years a substantial sum of money was spent for a special infrastructure and further protection devices. As a gambler, therefore one does not need to be afraid of his or her security, neither from the online gambling providers, nor the gaming providers.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/illustrations/hacker-cyber-kriminalität-internet-2300772/