Hackers Attempt to Block Traffic to Australian Online Casinos
Online casinos in Australia have become targets for extortion by foreign hackers, who are preventing access to the sites at prime betting times. According to a report by the Herald-Sun, sites offering sports betting have seen traffic numbers jump tenfold at key times, causing the Internet gambling operators to inadvertently shut down.Hackers, primarily thought to be Russian in origin, are using zombie computers to hit the online casinos with a massive influx of Internet traffic, overwhelming the sites' servers and preventing them from taking bets at prime wagering times, like before the start of Australian Football League matches.
Among the gaming operators who have suffered from the hackers' attacks are Sportingbet, Betchoice, Sportsbet, and Sports Alive. Being inoperative during the biggest betting times is costing the online casinos millions of dollars.
Similar practices have been alleged to have been committed by Russian organized crime. In the case of other industries, demands were made following the attacks for payment to prevent recurrences.
"They are sending through several thousand transactions a second," said Sportsbet CEO Matt Tripp. "It's unlike anything we have seen before."
"It was unprecedented traffic trying to get into the site," said Sportingbet Australia CEO Michael Sullivan of an attack last week that shut down his site for several hours.
So far, no demands have been received.
