Betfair Fall Victim to Cyber Attack, Fails to Notify Customers
30/10/11 15:20 Filed in: BetFair
Bad news has struck both online gaming giant Betfair and its user base as the company now reports on its recent trouble with cyber crime. The digital attack in question saw massive amounts of member information — some of it linked to bank accounts and security questions — being stolen by the perpetrators.
In the media fallout that has followed the cyber attack, Betfair.com has told press that it failed to inform its users that the attack had occurred — and that many of them would have been financially compromised by it. Sky News, in reporting on the story, alleges that some 3.1 million account names linked to security questions were stolen in the attack. 2.9 million usernames alone and almost 90,000 usernames linked to bank account information were also nabbed by the perpetrators. Betfair justified its failure to notify its customers of the attack by stating that doing so would have interfered with an ongoing Serious Organized Crime Agency investigation. The company also stated that its existing security measures had rendered the stolen data unusable.
The outrage that has followed this news is considerable and will do far more damage to Betfair’s reputation than if the company had informed its members of the security breach straightaway. Regardless of how its users feel about their site of choice now, Betfair has told press that it is taking all necessary measures in strengthening its security to ensure that a similar attack won’t take place in the future.
In the media fallout that has followed the cyber attack, Betfair.com has told press that it failed to inform its users that the attack had occurred — and that many of them would have been financially compromised by it. Sky News, in reporting on the story, alleges that some 3.1 million account names linked to security questions were stolen in the attack. 2.9 million usernames alone and almost 90,000 usernames linked to bank account information were also nabbed by the perpetrators. Betfair justified its failure to notify its customers of the attack by stating that doing so would have interfered with an ongoing Serious Organized Crime Agency investigation. The company also stated that its existing security measures had rendered the stolen data unusable.
The outrage that has followed this news is considerable and will do far more damage to Betfair’s reputation than if the company had informed its members of the security breach straightaway. Regardless of how its users feel about their site of choice now, Betfair has told press that it is taking all necessary measures in strengthening its security to ensure that a similar attack won’t take place in the future.
