As the pandemic pushed more businesses to an online-first model, cybercriminals seized opportunities to profit from fraudulent activity. But the financial impact of these attacks on businesses has been hard to quantify. Netacea recently surveyed 440 businesses from across the USA and UK to understand how much financial impact bot attacks are having across different industries.

In gaming and betting, it is said that the house always wins. However, some bettors are constantly looking for loopholes to guarantee a profit no matter the outcome of their bets. They have even developed sophisticated software tools to help with a controversial tactic called arbitrage betting, which costs the industry millions each year.

The old saying goes “cheaters never prosper”, but sadly that is not always the case in online gaming. In dark corners of the internet, new ways of cheating at online games – and getting away with it – are being developed on an alarming scale. Both purchasable and “free to play” (F2P) games now offer rewards either in exchange for real world currency or through “grinding” in game, which takes time and effort.

Back in the 90s, gaming companies were mainly occupied with physical security and less with cyber threats. With single-player PC games or consoles like Sega, Nintendo, and PS1, the only perceived threat to gaming companies was someone burning CDs or using the notorious modchip that allowed potential customers to use illegal copies of their favorite games. As technology grew more advanced, gaming companies offered their customers a much more robust experience.

Cryptocurrency (crypto) transactions are solely reliant on the online space. Billions of people have access to online platforms. The autonomy provided by cryptosystems exposes users to more danger as there are no centralized authorities. Thus, expert fraudsters such as hackers may be able to access your transactions via their computer.

Video game security risks are on the rise. Building security into your software development life cycle can help protect your reputation and customers. You’re supposed to have fun and relax when you’re playing video games—maybe with a bit of self-generated competitive stress. What you’re not supposed to do is have to worry about a hacker stealing your personal and financial information.

Theresa Lanowitz collaborated on this blog. The proliferation of technology and internet connectivity has made it possible for people to seek out most things online, and gaming and gambling are not exceptions. In addition to online video games, social media, music, and video streaming, there are also online casinos and gambling for real money. Well, for gambling in the USA there are state laws to mind, but in some states online gambling is permitted.

It’s PS5 launch day and dedicated fans have been queuing all morning to get their hands on the limited number of consoles available. So far, we’ve seen John Lewis, Tesco, Currys PC World, Game and Argos struggle under the enormity of tens of thousands of visitors. John Lewis was offline entirely while those with a queuing system in place found that slowing the flow of traffic alone was not enough to protect retailers from over selling stock.

Scalper bots, also known as inventory hoarding bots, are the bots that thrive on supply and demand. These malicious bots are used to target merchandise that is typically in high demand or limited supply, buying it and selling it on for a tidy profit. The key thing here, is that scalper bots can make purchases extraordinarily quickly, much faster than any genuine user can.