How to Protect Your Online Casino from Cyber Threats (Issue #9)

Cyberattacks have become one of the biggest dangers for online casinos in recent years. According to worldmetrics.com, in 2023, 70% of online casinos were targeted by cybercriminals, making the industry the third most attacked worldwide.

Among these, 85% of casinos faced DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks (we will explain what they entail below). The cost of a single cybersecurity incident for a casino averages €5 million, while total annual losses from cybercrime reach €45 billion.

Evgeny Zaretskov , Group Chief Information Security Officer at SOFTSWISS, explains:

We design our products with security in mind at every stage and conduct regular audits. Additionally, our team helps online casino operators stay safe by advising them on best security practices.

The Biggest Threats to Online Casinos

We spoke with SOFTSWISS cybersecurity experts: Artem Bychkov, Deputy CSO at SOFTSWISS, and Pavel Bairachnyi, Head of Infrastructure Security at SOFTSWISS, to understand the most common cyber threats online casinos face and how to prevent them.

Stealing Money from Casinos

One of the main cyber threats in online casinos is related to fund theft directly from the casino. According to the SOFTSWISS Anti-fraud Team, 90% of fraud cases involve bonus abuse, identity theft, and fake documents.

As Artem Bychkov emphasises, criminals might sign up with fake accounts to exploit casino bonuses (such as free spins) by pretending to be real players. They take advantage of these incentives by pretending to be new players, allowing them to cash out winnings without depositing real money.

In some cases, affiliates might generate fake sign-ups to claim commissions for bringing in 'new' users who are, in reality, not real players.

Hacking Casino Players’ Accounts

A common attack against online casinos involves breaking into player accounts by guessing their passwords. This method, known as a ‘brute force attack,’ involves trying numerous password combinations to gain access to the account.

Criminals use large lists of stolen email addresses and passwords from other sites, knowing that many people reuse the same credentials across different services.

Another type of attack called ‘account enumeration’ helps criminals gather a list of casino customer accounts. As Pavel Bairachnyi explains, they use databases of stolen emails and enter them into the casino's login form.

By analysing error messages, they can determine which email addresses are linked to real accounts. For example, an error saying 'account does not exist' reveals which emails are not registered within the platform.

Over 1 billion records were stolen in data breaches worldwide in 2024 alone. With access to this data, attackers can use automated tools to guess the correct email and password combinations quickly.

DDoS Attacks Aimed at Your Casino Website

A DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack is like a digital traffic jam intentionally created to shut down a website. Attackers use a network of hacked devices (called a botnet) to flood a website with tons of fake requests[3] all at once. Imagine thousands of people trying to enter a small store simultaneously – it would become overcrowded and unusable.

Similarly, the website's server gets overwhelmed and can’t handle the massive influx of traffic, causing it to slow down or crash, making it inaccessible to legitimate users.

Best Practices to Combat Cybercrime

In the face of evolving cyber threats, online casinos and gaming platforms must adopt robust security measures. The following best practices offer a comprehensive approach to safeguarding your platform, protecting user data, and maintaining operational integrity.

By implementing these strategies, you can significantly reduce vulnerability to cyberattacks and build trust with your players. Let's explore key tactics to fortify your defences against cybercrime!

Strengthen Bonus and Affiliate Program Safeguards

• Create clear and transparent bonus rules that are harder to exploit. For instance, set a maximum bet limit when playing with bonus funds to prevent players from placing high-risk bets and cashing out quickly.
• Allow the referrer (the player who attracts new players) to use their referral bonus only after the new player makes their first deposit.
• Use software like SEON or Jumio to detect suspicious behaviour, such as players opening multiple accounts.
• Implement tools like Cloudflare that can assess risks in real time to stop fraud before it happens.

For instance, the SOFTSWISS Anti-fraud Team recently added a real-time risk assessment tool that saved operators €6 million in the first half of 2024!

Implement Strong Authentication and Access Controls

• Limit the number of login attempts a user can make with an incorrect password.
• Require users to confirm their login with one-time passwords (OTP) sent to their phones or emails.
• Lock accounts after several failed login attempts and allow secure recovery options.
• Adjust your system so that all login errors are generic and don’t reveal if the account exists within the platform.

• Use rate limits and CAPTCHA to stop large-scale attempts to gather account details. Rate limits restrict the number of actions a user can perform in a given timeframe, reducing the chances of malicious bots flooding the system with requests. For example, a rate limit might allow only five login attempts within five minutes. Users who exceed this limit will be temporarily blocked from trying again. This prevents bots from making endless attempts to guess passwords and protects player accounts from being hacked. CAPTCHA adds an extra layer of security by verifying if the user is human, making it harder for bots to carry out automated attacks.

Safeguard Your Server with Cloud-Based Protection Services

• Use cloud-based protection services like Cloudflare or Fastly that block harmful traffic before it reaches your server.
• Hide your server’s external IP address so attackers can’t easily target it.
• Change your server’s IP address if it has been exposed. You can check for exposure using services like DNS history or Shodan.
• Set up rules to allow only trusted traffic from protection services. In this case, you're essentially giving your server a list of approved IP addresses (those belonging to your protection service). Any incoming traffic must originate from these trusted addresses to be allowed through.
• Be ready to quickly switch your server's IP address if an attack happens.

As Pavel Bairachnyi emphasises, local protection solutions – installed directly on your server or within your network – are often insufficient for DDoS attacks. The sheer volume of fake traffic can overwhelm your internet connection, making it hard for these systems to manage.

This is why cloud-based protection services are crucial. They filter out harmful traffic before it even reaches your server, ensuring that your system isn’t overloaded and can handle legitimate user requests more efficiently.

While cyber threats are numerous and constantly evolving, implementing comprehensive security measures can significantly reduce the risk of cyberattacks on your casino. Use the above steps as a checklist to ensure you adhere to these best practices. Regular updates, staff training, and continuous improvement of security procedures are essential to effectively defending against cybercriminals.

Remember that investing in cybersecurity is not just about protecting your platform but also about building player trust and safeguarding the future of your business.

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The SOFTSWISS Team

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