An informative article in the publication Daze Info warns online gambling operators to watch out against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks because it might cost them a lot of money to recover. This criminal activity might cost operators more than $40,000 an hour or more if they are unprepared.
The article notes that 9 out of 20 online gambling businesses are targeted by DDoS attacks. Three out of four have been attacked more than once and 9 out of 10 online gambling companies were hit in the past year. So far only one operator has been hit by a DDoS attack in the last week.
According to the article, 50% of the attacks come from commercial competitors. “Having in mind that 60% of the online gambling businesses such as sports betting and horse racing have a real time nature, there is no room for even half second latency on a gaming site,” reads the article. This latency is achieved by a competing operator with $100 to spend on access to a botnet.
“If your online gambling business is successful chances are high that it doesn’t run on a WorldPress template with a hosting package from GoDaddy. Because online casinos and other gambling websites require more customization it often means that they are operating an unsecured proprietary, therefore, they are venerable to attacks.”
As a precaution measure, the article at Daze Info points out that operators should protect three main things- website speed, uptime and financial information. To do this, a pro infrastructure shielding is a must.
Furthermore, according to the article, in July this year four online casinos in New Jersey suffered from DDoS attacks in the same day. In addition, one operator was targeted with a five vector DDoS attack that peaked at 100 Gbps.