Gambling: Cyber attacks increase

In the 3rd quarter of 2020, 76.92 percent of all cyber attacks were committed to gambling and gaming industry. At least that’s how it emerges from the quarterly report of the “Nexusguard” company specializing in cyber security. Most attacks would be based on the infamous DDOS attacks that in most cases aimed at companies from gambling and gaming industry. Overall, an increase of 287 percent was registered in the 3rd quarter of the current year.

Online gambling in the focus of cyber attacks

The online gambling has taken a rapid development in recent years and is now one of the most profitable industry in the world. The constant availability, the growing offer and the non -tearing demand have ensured that the industry has experienced a kind of boom. But success also has its dark sides. Over time, the individual providers of online casinos and sports betting have become increasingly in the focus of digital crime.

The records of the security company “Nexusguard” show that the attacks against the online gambling world have increased drastically in recent years. Despite the increasing number of cases, the gambling industry is well prepared against the threat from the cyberspace. According to “Nexusguard”, the basic building blocks for the good defense are the special infrastructure, excellent protective devices and advanced coding. In the network, the individual measures would Successfully ward off DDOS attacks be able. At the same time, the companies would have a good alternative system in the online gambling, which rely on unexpected VIP domains and which starts DDOS attacks.

What are DDOS attacks? A DDOS attack (Distributed Denial-of Service) is a special type of cybercrime. They have been used for more than 20 years to specifically harm companies and institutions. Their immense clout makes it an incalculable and serious danger. A DDOS attack aims to severely restrict or even paralyze a requested online service. In most cases, the overload of the corresponding IT infrastructure is willingly brought about. This type of cybercrime is often used to blackmail ransom or to carry out other criminal actions by unprotected organizations. However, sometimes ideological or moral intentions are behind a DDOS attack.

Because of Corona: Gaming industry easy victim

In contrast to the online gambling game, cybercrime has been part of the Gaming industry. According to “Nexusguard”, the industry is one Breeding site for DDOS attacksthat in most cases even assume active players. The gaming servers “Nitrado” and “Gameservers.com” with 54,471 and 51,815 attacks were most frequently the goal of criminal activities in cyberspace. Industry giant “Blizzard Entertainment”, which manages a gigantic IT infrastructure due to popular online games such as “World of Warcraft” or “Overwatch”, is in third place with 13,301 registered DDOS attacks.

Who is Nexusguard? The online security company Nexusguard was founded in 2008 and has specialized in the detection, weakening and analysis of DDOS attacks over the years. The company’s comprehensive product portfolio combines the functions and advantages of on-premise, private cloud and global cloud to protect themselves from various types of attack. In the meantime, Nexusguard is focusing on an easy-to-implement DDOS protection due to the growing demand of “Communications Service Providers” (CSPS).

Sharper safety rules against cyber attacks?

The European Union has also been working on cybercrime for years. The dangers from cyber attacks are huge. Therefore, the Brussels EU Commission intends to introduce sharper security rules. For example, the confederation of states wants to better protect critical infrastructures and services from cyber attacks and criminals, but also from natural disasters. For this, among other things, the Building a network of security centers worries. This should recognize this impending attacks early on and also fight.

The Commission recently addressed the potential measures. When introducing the suggestions, referred to the presentation Josep Borrell, outskirts of the European Union, on the latest attack on the IT system of the European Medicines Authority EMA. Unknown hackers illegally had documents about the corona vaccine the Mainz company “Biontech” and the US pharmaceutical company “Pfizer” captivated.

In addition to the sharper safety rules, the EU Commission also thinks about the Introduction of a sanction system after. This should enable fines if operators of critical infrastructures such as hospitals or energy networks do not adhere to the pronounced security requirements. At the same time, the scope for the regulations should be expanded. The public administration, the food industry and medicinal production would be affected by this advance.

Implementation earlier than expected? It was only on Wednesday, December 16 that the proposals for the sharper security rules against cyber attacks were submitted. Now it is due to the governments of the member states and the EU Parliament to advise the potential changes in the law. If agreement is reached in this topic, the member nations would have to implement the measures within 18 months.