Online casinos are growing rapidly around the world according to multiple studies. In many countries, people want to play slots and blackjack online because it’s more convenient than driving miles away to visit a brick-and-mortar casino. But can we feel safe when playing at online casinos?
Recent studies show that on average 30,000 new websites are hacked every day. In this article, we will cover what technologies casino sites use to protect themselves from hackers and guarantee the safety of their players’ data and money.
Using HTTPS for Website Security
The first step many online casinos take to protect their websites from hackers is to use HTTPS protection. HTTPS use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to create a secure connection between a casino’s servers and their customers’ browsers.
When you visit a casino site with an HTTPS website, your data stays encrypted throughput the process. This keeps it safe from digital spies, stalkers and hackers. By comparison, a HTTP website transmits your personal information openly. This provides vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers.
HTTPS is a compulsory requirement for getting a license at many jurisdictions: the UK Gambling Commission, Malta Gaming Authority and Curacao Gambling Board, to name a few. This explains the need to join licensed casinos at all times.
To provide you with a few examples of secure online casinos, read this article here about the best Canadian casino operators. In addition to the list of legitimate online casinos in Canada, there is a nice check list to help you ensure you pick a reliable casino sites.
Partnering with Safe Providers
Online casinos don’t exist in a vacuum. They have partnerships with countless third-party businesses. Let’s start with game developers. The standard online casino has 300+ games from over a dozen software providers. All these providers must follow high standards of security to ensure their games are safe.
Casino operators also make partnerships with established payment providers to guarantee safe money transactions. These include international brands like Visa, MasterCard and PayPal.
Complying with PCI DSS
PCI DSS is a security certificate for online businesses that handle payments. Online casinos fall into this category. In the UK, PCI DSS compliance is compulsory. In other jurisdictions, it’s optional but highly recommended.
Basically, a PCI DSS compliance certificate provides proof that an online casino encrypts users’ data. They also use antiviruses to keep off malware, viruses, worms, ransomware, DDoS attacks and spies. Additionally, they use firewalls to block unwanted traffic.
As mentioned, PCI DSS is highly recommended for online casinos. Non compliance means operators expose their data, games and player’s finances to hackers. The costs of a successful hack are even worse and could drive multi-million brands into bankruptcy.
Securing User Accounts
Nearly every online casino provides login scripts for account protection. You can’t gamble before you create an account using your email address or phone number. Then you must setup a unique password to limit account access.
Fifteen years ago, most websites would allow you to use just about any password for your account. These days, they require you mix letters with numbers and special characters to create strong passwords. For added security, they can also mandate you to activate 2-factor authentication.
Two-factor authentication involves the use of a code to provide account access. It’s sent to your mobile phone number or email address and is used alongside a password. Because hackers have numerous ways of correctly guessing your password, 2-Factor authentication limit their powers. They might guess your password, but they still can’t get into your account unless they hack your phone too.
Regular, Automatic Backups
Generally speaking, backups help online casinos operate even when some of their servers are down. And if these servers get damaged completely, backups help operators to continue operating with minimal disruptions. That said, backing up use databases have a lot more benefits.
Regarding cyberattack protection, an offline backup is the only sure way of getting access to your systems and data after a large breach. On the flip side, automatic backups allow casino players to continue gambling with minimal disruptions.
There’s no impact on performance and they help save up on time. What’s more, they provide secure remote file sharing. The data is backed up in secure servers. As a result, employees that need this data can transfer it to their computers while it’s encrypted.
Educating Employees
According to CNBC, roughly 47% of all cyberattacks in the last five years occurred due to an error done by an employee. It could be the loss of a device like a laptop, a successful phishing incident or failure to use security tools like antiviruses and Virtual Private Networks.
To prevent employee-related cyberattacks, many online businesses now take their workers through courses about online security. For example, they can teach their field workers to avoid public WiFi or use VPNs while doing it.
The best casinos train employees through interactive sessions. This allows them to learn how phishing scams work, how to identity unsafe websites and malware. In turn, casinos can identity high-risk employees—the least tech-savvy workers and further train them or remove them in a position where they could be exploited by hackers.
Regular Security Audits
Another way many online casinos avoid hacking is by auditing their systems regularly. Hackers mostly target games. They can rig a slot to make it payout more often than it should. Of course, they also target financial data and the entire website in general.
Independent audits check games for fairness. Some of them also issue out a license to confirm a casino has fair games. These audits also provide certificates to prove the operators pay out consistently.
