14 DAY TRIAL // It was recently unveiled that more than a year ago, Betfair's customer database was breached and the credit card information of more than 2 million customers was leaked.
Just before announcing their intention to float their shares on the exchange market it seems as an alleged Cambodian cybercriminal hacked into the company's data center in Malta, getting away with more than 3 million account usernames that contained security questions and almost 100 thousand accounts which contained bank details.
According to The Telegraph, between March and April of 2010, some of their systems were compromised and a large quantity of data was stolen.
While they were forced to contact the Serious Organized Crime Agency in the UK, the Australian and German law enforcement authorities and Royal Bank of Scotland who handles their transactions, they failed to alert the customers involved whose credit card credentials might have been stolen.
Even though an Information Risk Management report revealed that "Information security was not implemented in accordance with best practice,” and that “Appropriate information security governance is not in place within Betfair and as a consequence the business has been exposed to significant risks," company representatives remained faithful that the leaked information is well enough encrypted and that their clients are not risking anything.
"Eighteen months ago we were subject to an attempted data theft. Because of our security measures, the data was unusable for fraudulent activity and we were able to recover the data intact. At the time, we contacted all the relevant authorities and worked closely with them regarding this matter and it was established that there was no risk to customers," revealed a Betfair representative after details of the incident were made public.
Lately a lot of issues revolved around online gambling and international authorities became aware of the dangers implied in such activities. As a result, we've seen a lot of attempts to adopt laws that would regulate every aspect of the industry, but as it seems, it's a lot harder to accomplish than anyone had imagined.