Cyberattacks are increasing at an alarming rate and iGaming and online sports betting affiliates are more vulnerable than ever before.
According to cloud, hosting and security specialist, Continent 8 Technologies, in the third quarter of this year alone the company blocked more than 500 DDoS attacks.
That number is more than double the 210 attacks that it blocked during the previous quarter. But what are the most common attacks, and how can affiliates protect themselves?
The most common cyberattacks
Ransomware is one of the most common and dangerous cyberattacks that affiliates need to be aware of and protect themselves from.
If you fall victim to ransomware, you won’t be able to access certain parts of your system unless you pay a ransom– often via a cryptocurrency of some kind.
Even then, there is no guarantee the cyber-criminal will release your site.
Other types of malware are increasingly prevalent. This includes adware, spyware, trojans, and viruses.
In most cases, your device or system will become infected because you click on a link or download a suspicious app, often sent via an email.
Another common cyberattack is the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.
DDoS attacks involve criminals stopping your system or website from working properly by flooding it with high levels of traffic and requests.
This ultimately crashes your affiliate site and cybercriminals will only call off the attack once you have paid a ransom.
Why you should be concerned
The primary reason you should worry about cyberattacks is the cost involved. According to IBM’s 2021 “Cost of a Data Breach” report, data breaches cost companies $4.24m on average.
While the financial impact of an attack will be lower for small to medium size affiliates, you must also consider the reputational cost of your site being down or customer data being breached.
Then there is the long-term consequence of cybercriminals keeping your site locked or under attack for prolonged periods of time – sometimes weeks or even months on end.
How to protect your site from cyberattacks
The best way to fix a cyberattack is to stop it from happening in the first place.
One of the first things you should do is use a platform like CloudFlare, keeping your website and any apps you offer safe and secure.
This should be combined with tools such as Wordfence, a security plug-in that has a built-in web application firewall to identify and block malicious traffic.
You can also prevent cyberattacks by adopting standard security practices.
You mustn’t click on suspicious links, and you should also consider enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) on all of your devices and to access sensitive areas of your systems or website.
Other things to think about include keeping your software updated and educating your team about the dangers of cyberattacks.
You could also work with specialist agencies and have them assess your vulnerabilities and then suggest and implement the best products and solutions for your needs.
This is a more expensive option, but when you consider the cost of a successful attack – both financially and reputationally – it might be a price worth paying.