Online services of any kind are targets for cybercrime. For online casinos, the threat of attack is even greater, given the size of the industry and the amount of money players pump into it.
As such, casino site operators are majorly incentivized to provide impeccable security solutions so that customers are protected from modern threats. This is not just about keeping players safe, but also about protecting brand reputation.
With all that in mind, let’s take a look at what steps casinos take to shield themselves and their customers from the advances of malicious third parties.
Adding extra security at login
While in the movies you might see hackers breaking into the backend of business systems using complex coding and snazzy software skills, the reality is that most cyber attacks originate from something far more mundane.
For example, if a user chooses a weak password, or if they use the same password across multiple services and it ends up on the black market, then it will be child’s play for a cybercriminal to log into their casino account and wreak havoc.
One of the advantages of online casinos is that they are beginning to implement two factor authentication as a security measure. In addition to a password, users may need to verify each login attempt via an email link or a code sent to their smartphone.
You can learn more about pros and cons of online gambling, but this attentiveness to cybersecurity issues is definitely among the most important.
Providing secure payment options
Clearly players need to know that they can log into their casino account without fear of a hacker getting there ahead of them. However, arguably a more crucial transaction to get right is one where money is involved.
Online casino customers can expect to deposit and withdraw large sums on a regular basis, and unless there is confidence in the methods available to achieve this, operators will struggle to earn any trust.
Luckily there are a multitude of payment platforms and solutions which are rigorously secured and already popular in the mainstream which online casinos embrace to give users peace of mind.
This includes everything from PayPal and Skrill to traditional card-based transactions through the likes of Visa and MasterCard.
These solutions are of course not infallible, but the point is not that they are 100 percent secure, but rather that they are backed by businesses that have the resources and expertise to deliver as much resilience as possible in the face of significant cyber threats.
In this sense casino sites are much like a multitude of other organizations that do business online, including e-commerce retailers, in that they are not solely reliant on in-house security systems and know-how to keep customers safe.
Rather they are part of a wider ecosystem of services that collectively provide better protection than they would independently.
Delivering well-defended games
Casinos sites are a portal through which a wide variety of online gambling experiences can be enjoyed. As with the payment methods mentioned earlier, this also means that operators need to work with a number of different third party software developers to populate their sites with the latest and greatest titles.
If the games are shoddily put together, then they might be manipulated by cybercriminals, which could leave players and casino operators alike out of pocket. If they are robustly coded and secure enough to withstand common types of attack, on the other hand, they are deserving of a place in even the largest casino site collections.
This is why casino game development studios like NetEnt and Microgaming have managed to corner the market in recent years. A track record of providing undeniably secure games is one which operators appreciate, just as players recognize the other qualities which go towards making a great online slot.
A side effect of this is that smaller developers may struggle to break into the industry, but this is a small price to pay for cybersecurity.
Embracing encryption
Encryption is the cornerstone of modern cybersecurity, both in an online casino context and more broadly across the business world.
Players that pick reputable casino sites to use will enjoy end to end encryption whether they are playing in their browser or from within a standalone mobile application. Meanwhile they can also rest easy that their private data is encrypted wherever it is stored on casino servers.
In summary, cybersecurity in the online casino sector is second to none, and this industry sets an excellent example which others should follow.
