2009 has been a busy year for the community of internet hackers. It has also been one of major concern for the online gambling business. The latest issue for the industry is gambling sites being compromised through a technique known as web scraping. According to a report published in SC magazine, internet hackers are frequently using bot programs to capture information from online casino sites to fix the odds to reveal pattern payouts and ensure larger winnings. After gathering the information, hackers can then use their arbitration systems to determine which bets are most likely to win. When bets are involved, this malicious technique is incredibly difficult to detect, prevent and track because the programs run off automated scripts designed to simulate the play of a live human gambler. This also leads security experts to believe that money laundering is still a possibility within the realm of online gambling.
How Web Scraping Works
Also referred to as web harvesting, web scraping is a technique performed by a software program that extracts data from a website. In some cases, the program is intended to simulate human exploration of the web or a particular site. This is typically done by implementing a lower level version of HTTP or even embedding entire browsers such as Mozilla FireFox or Internet Explorer. The technique of web scraping is quite similar to web indexing, which involves a bot crawling the web to index pages for search engines. Though it can be used in a benign manner when it comes to web research and data integration, this technique is very dangerous in the hands of a hacker out to wreak havoc.
Virtual Casinos a Perfect Target
The fact that online gambling is entirely based on the web makes this prosperous industry a prime target for web scraping. Knowledgeable hackers can use the method to extract the necessary details from a casino site and use their arbitration systems to play the odds at a level that virtually guarantees huge winnings. They can use these tools to manipulate the odds in a way that improves their winning margin and also monitor the site to determine when it experiences the most traffic. All of this is done in stealth manner, leaving the casino to believe they are dealing with a real human player while the criminal skates off undetected.
Analysts are predicting that the online gambling industry will be worth an estimated $125 billion by the year 2015. If that is true, hackers and techniques like web scraping could become even bigger problems for the industry. Security experts warn that web scraping occurs quite frequently, stating that a savvy hacker can easily steal data from a website, host it on another and redirect unknowing players. Something this manipulative could lead to phishing, fraud and even identity theft. While there are some preventative measures that can be put in place to minimize the risk, expects are concerned that far too many casino operators do not have the time or knowledge to implement them.
