Partner Article

Bookmakers are Gambling with App Security

By Tom Lysemose Hansen, founder and CTO of Norwegian app security specialists Promon

Gambling applications form a huge industry, however, developers have failed to adequately protect their customers from the risk posed by online threats.

While the banking industry is largely savvy to the threats posed to mobile apps (with exceptions), the gambling industry is dragging its heels, despite the high risk of the exposing of sensitive financial information to external threats.

The risks that users of gambling apps face include Keyloggers, Spyware, Trojans and Man-in-the-App attacks, each of which are able to covertly access personal details. Without adequate security at the level of the device - and no security software can be completely adequate - each transaction on a mobile device that takes place through a gambling app could put the user’s private data in jeopardy.

It is time for bookmakers to take responsibility for their apps. Any transaction that takes place through a gambling application, much like a bank transfer, involves access to an account, and should be treated with due caution. If they are not, cybercriminals have the potential to destabilise what is - for the time being - a booming industry, by flocking to gambling apps for easy admission to sensitive information.

Only with the customer’s long-term experience in mind will the gambling industry be able to secure profit in the long-term. With their collective watchdog in place, the conditions are right for the companies to temporarily curb competitive edge in favour of floating the industry to safety from external threats to devices with the launch of self-defending apps.

Security architecture cannot continue to exist as software external to the apps themselves. Companies must begin to understand the app economy brings with it its own set of difficulties and doesn’t straightforwardly pose a moneymaking opportunity. Gambling companies must rise to the challenge of improving app security without compromising the sensitive data of the customer, and with it, their own reputation.

Ultimately, the model of responsibility needs to change: mobile devices do not work well with anti-virus software, and it should not be for the customer to put sensitive information in a vulnerable position. By in-building a security approach to design, the big names in gambling should be able to displace their poor reputation for being detached from customers’ interests.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Promon .