Our digital world has cybersecurity issues with stakes high and real risk. The year 2023 marked a deep concern in numbers of data breaches, with more than 8 billions of records exposed through a new vulnerability of software.
As cybersecurity becomes more malicious there is an urgent necessity for powerful protection technologies. Ransomware attacks on the gambling business in recent time show how both critical operations and sensitive data are at risk.
Just like gambling is unstable, the probability of getting hacked is the never-ending game of chances that require preventive measures being taken promptly. Casinos, with their huge financial resources, are especially tempting prey for cybercriminals.
Nevertheless, they use a number of defensive security measures, but the absence of a comprehensive security analysis implies that they are susceptible to exploitation. The absence of this check would not only go a long way in making users vulnerable to attacks but in the end, would create a huge financial loss to the brand.
It cannot be denied that the posing danger of cybersecurity risks is not a game in which cyber criminals are single players; what is driving organizations to the path of doom or success depends entirely on their preparedness.
The Gambler’s Fallacy
The gambler’s fallacy is the idea that if, for instance, a certain game of chance has a series of negative outcomes, then it must be followed by a positive outcome over the next series. As a result, players, e.g., in blackjack, who have already lost a series of bets, might increase their limit for the next game, hoping to win an unending stream.
It might do so if only individuals would have the limitless amount of gambling money to be spent, yet the reality is that people don’t; both individuals and companies do have the same limited and non-replaceable financial resources to cover their losses ever again. This means that it is paramount to avoid this misconception as a valuable blackjack strategy in the game as well as for the financial security of gambling corporations.
The Threat of Cyberattacks in the Casino Industry
The fact that cyberattacks are growing fast and are related to games of chance, which are independent and consequential events is a concern. The fact that the sequence of each hand is not related to the other hands played, fundamentally, resets the odds every time when the cards are dealt.
An attack that has been experienced very recently doesn’t automatically make you immune to future cyberattacks. Actually, it points towards cybercriminals that the victim lacks a strong level of protection and it has some undiscovered vulnerability in its weaponry. To be more specific, a company that is the victim of a cyberattack does not imply freedom from this attack to others; it means that they could be the next ones to be hit.
This evidence simply highlights the paramount role of a solid defense mechanism as well as scheduling penetration tests every now and then to sniff out any and all vulnerabilities within your environment. Through implementing this allows companies make corrections to discovered breaches as well as ensuring total security which every other vulnerability is countered.
In an ideal world, the security experts advise penetration testing on a quarterly basis, since the emergence of new vulnerabilities necessitates this. Although this does mean extra expenditure it is wise to do a penetration test and a vulnerability assessment at least every year which should be combined with using a vulnerability management platform to get information about newly discovered exposures.
One should keep in mind that although “automated pentests” can suffice apparently as lower-cost options, they should be treated as networking monitoring applications, and not as real penetration testing. They scan vulnerability with limited known exploits. These scans lack human creativity and active methods, similar to screen crawling bots.
The skill of an individual to see the gaps that makes an intruder in the system possible is more or less like a malicious hacker. Some firms may trumpet the use of AI to mimic the process of conducting a formal business with complete trust, but the current provenance of technology does not surpass a point where one can confidently rely on AI being put entirely in charge. Although the industry has witnessed a high level of technological progress towards AI, it is over optimistic to think that the technology has fully matured. However, as of now these systems are based on Machine Learning algorithms only and therefore full reliability cannot be guaranteed.
The Impact of Human Error in Cybersecurity
Sadly, pentests are not the ultimate solution to the perpetually looming menace of cyberattacks. In fact, it is the employees, who are the most vulnerable asset in the company, who remain the primary cause of security breaches.
On the brink of 80% of cyber incidents, the source of which is human error, statistics are being disclosed. The recent breach at MGM serves as a compelling illustration: hackers used LinkedIn user data to create the identity of an employee and then contacted the IT department, assuming to be a legit sender, which would lead to the data loss by the IT department. The intruder got a foothold into the organization networks in just 10 minutes and became the admin-level user. The point should be added that attacks such as this do not only target employees with elevated clearance levels; even those with limited access to or control over sensitive information are not immunized from them. Education is the master key at all organizational levels. There would be an attacker who would tackle one employee at a lower level by obtaining his or her email credentials through phishing techniques. With these credentials, malware can be delivered to the contacts of the employee at once, and it will hack into the internal network of the company very easily. Furthermore, hackers will identify, probably with EternalBlue, aka MS17-010, a critical vulnerability, and from that point on, spread malicious software across the organization.
Social engineering simulations have the purpose of checking how an organization is prepared concerning its human factors that affect the overall security of the company. With the help of phishing (email) and vishing (phone call) campaigns, organizations can test employees’ security awareness regarding cyber attacks and provide them with the required education and training to safeguard the whole company when real vulnerabilities of a cyber nature are detected.
In Summary
The present situation of cybersecurity cannot be denied as uncontrollable due to its complexity. Phenomenally, new technologies are aimed at simplifying our tasks, but indeed, they represent a more complex line of attacks. Consequently, protecting ourselves effectively requires doing an in-depth investigation into areas of vulnerability in the case of the incident virus spread.
Through social engineering exercises, conducting a pen-test on a yearly basis allows an organization to attain a holistic view of the company’s security posture. Such an approach ensures that the most vulnerable point in the system is duly pointed.
Certain recreations of chance may bring joy, but it is more enjoyable when one wins. Therefore, why not try to decrease the possibility of losing? By all means, the concept of coincidence is connected with independent events; however, this does not take away from the role of precise actions.