Cybersecurity Post-Sony: Are Online Casinos Ready?

A war has been raging over the past few weeks without a shot having been fired. It's a new kind of war in which guns and infantry are replaced by botnets, worms, trojans, viruses and many other tools – better known as cyberwarfare.

Cyberattacks on Sony

The casus belli for the cyberwar was "The Interview", a new film directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg which tells of two American journalists assigned by the CIA to assassinate North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un. North Korea has repeatedly expressed its objection to the release of the film. In late November, Sony Pictures Entertainment's computer networks were hacked, with the hackers leaking loads of internal information and threatening 11/9 attacks on cinemas showing the new film.

Responding to the threats, Sony cancelled The Interview's premiere in New York and pulled all television advertising, something which led other theaters to delay or completely remove the film's screenings. Sony's move was criticized by many who viewed it as capitulation to terrorists and a hard hit on free speech. One vocal critic was US President Obama who said that the cancellation was a mistake and that Sony should have consulted him beforehand. On Tuesday, Sony reversed its move in a small proportion, deciding to release the movie on a small number of cinemas on Christmas day.

North Korean Internet Hit

For the cyberattacks themselves, the US put the blame on North Korea, something which the regime fiercely denied. Western retaliation was swift when in Monday December 22th, North Korea's internet simply failed. This came after President Obama talked about a "proportional response" to the Sony attacks. It is known that American officials asked China to help in halting North Korea's cyberattacks. North Korea's state-run internet provider Star Joint Ventures runs almost exclusively through China.

Cyberattacks on Online Casinos

Earlier this February, Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands casino was hacked in a cyberattack said to be perpetrated by Iranian hackers. While the scope of online casinos is far from that of the Sands, these sometimes fall victim to cyberattacks as well. The currently raging cyberwar has shown that nobody is 100% vulnerable.

Cyberattacks on online casinos can come in different forms, a common one being DDoS attacks which attempt to bring the online casinos down as a whole to disrupt their operation. Other online casino cyberattacks include counterfeiting, theft of chips, abuse of online transactions and cheating. With online casinos operating across different jurisdictions, criminals have also started making increased attempts to use online casino payment methods in order to shift illicit money internationally.

Online Casinos Defenses from Cyberattacks

Thankfully, the world of data security has made great strides in the last decade and online casinos employ advanced measures to defend themselves from cyberattacks. SSL (Secure Socket Layer) methods are specifically used to protect players' private data, while DDoS protection systems are very common in online casinos.

Specifically at Online Casino Reports we make sure that all online casinos on the site are secure and licensed. Online casinos usually list their license information at the bottom of the homepage. For example, we can see at Winner Casino's homepage that the casino is licensed at Antigua & Barbuda and bears different seals vouching for its security; the same can be said for EuroSlots Casino which is licensed in Malta and is certified by DigiCert. Take heed of this information and make sure to play only at licensed and safe online casinos.