Partner Article

Gambling apps present an attractive target to criminals

Gambling firms can’t afford to leave security as an afterthought, especially in light of a recent Deloitte survey that predicts online gambling services will grow to £4.4billion by 2018, says Gordon Young, UK Sales Director at Promon:

“Gambling companies are battling to gain dominance on the mobile playing field but they must adopt a security-led approach as the industry shifts its focus to new routes to market. They are dealing with large volumes of sensitive customer data and combatting the theft of personal information is of utmost importance.”

Young claims the gambling industry is failing to adequately protect their customer Apps from compromise by malware, despite the formation of an industry watchdog to control the online behaviour of bookmakers:

“As the online gambling industry sector continues to overlook adequate app security while rapidly expanding, it is inevitable security breaches will rear their ugly head. Gambling firms must recognise the importance of integrating adequate security into the software’s design at the initial building stage with PEN testing used to confirm security is working.”

Some of the risks users of mobile gambling apps currently face include Keyloggers, Spyware, Trojans and MitA (Man-in-the-App). Young expresses his concern that the current make up of security architecture is unprepared to address these threats:

“Mobile devices do not work well with anti-virus and other traditional security mechanisms. Instead, security features must be introduced at the application level. Apps must be able to defend themselves against the hazards of cyber crime and leverage a proactive security approach to design, rather than falling back on less effective detection and reporting methods. Only through this approach will the associated risks of malware attacks be entirely eliminated.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Gordon Young .