EGBA establishes expert group to counter cyber security threats

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has established a new expert group to help support and coordinate the efforts of its members to counter the latest cyber security threats against gambling websites.

The group will enable EGBA members to share information with each other about the latest cyber threats and attacks, cooperate to track and resolve incidents, identify and solve security vulnerabilities, and implement the latest best practices in cyber security.

According to the association, gambling websites are an increasingly lucrative target for organised and professional cyber criminals who deploy a range of sophisticated methods to try to access player accounts, and steal funds and customer data stored within these.

According to cyber security firm Imperva, cited by the EGBA, automated cyber threats accounted for 28 per cent of all global traffic to gambling websites in 2020.

Cyber threats are a particular problem during major sporting events and increased 96 per cent year-on-year during the European football championships in 2021, with UK and German gambling websites particularly targeted. In 2019, EGBA members prevented at least 550 major cyber-attacks against their European websites.

The new expert group will facilitate cooperation between EGBA members to support their active, early detection and responses to cyber threats, strengthen individual and common security practices, and prevent malicious activities against their customer bases, including protecting against theft of funds and data breaches.

The group comprises cyber security experts from EGBA members and the scope and type of data to be shared in the group has been established through a Memorandum of Understanding.

Participation to the group is open to gambling operators which are not members of EGBA, provided they comply with a number of principles to ensure the highest standards in cyber security and data protection are maintained.

"We have launched this expert group to encourage and establish a much-needed platform for cross-industry cooperation on cybersecurity issues. Cyber criminals are increasingly determined and sophisticated in their efforts to try to hack into gambling websites to steal customer data and money," commented Maarten Haijer, the EGBA's Secretary General.

"Cyber threats tend to be cross-border in nature, affect operators in the same ways, and are a common threat to the industry. That’s why it is crucially important that operators work closer together to strengthen cyber security protocols and procedures, find common solutions to the latest threats and security vulnerabilities, and implement the highest security standards."