SBTech is in the process of bringing its clients’ websites back online, after over 50 of the sportsbooks it powers were taken off the web.
The sites went offline over the weekend, with SBTech’s monitoring system becoming wary of a potential attack on Friday evening – according to the iGaming media.
This security threat was quickly determined to be serious, prompting the supplier to shut down its global power centres.
Which websites have been affected?
Operator websites across Europe have been impacted by this security breach. These include BetHard, ComeOn, VirginBet, 10bet and Bet.pt.
US-facing brands were also taken offline. Score Board, owned by Oregon Lottery, is one of these. Meanwhile, Churchill Downs’ BetAmerica site has also been targeted.
It’s expected that SBTech’s European partner sites will be restored before those in the US.
Threat resolved
The issue itself has now been sorted and the services have been rebuilt. SBTech is now nearing the end of its recovery phase. No data security breach took place, nor was customer information accessed.
While the company hasn’t revealed the exact characteristics of the attack, it’s unlikely to be a direct denial of service (DDOS) attack. Geraint Williams, Chief Information Officer of Security Services at GRCI Group, believes that it’s more likely to be an attempted ransomware attack.
He said the below.
“Companies of this size usually have the resources and back-up servers to resume services relatively quickly if it’s a DDOS attack. Whereas if it’s a ransomware attack, it can take quite a bit of time to restore systems and make sure they are clean.”
Before the 50+ affected websites can be restored online (subject to regulatory clearance), a quality assurance check will be performed.
It was anticipated that operator sites would begin to go live again at 8 a.m. today (March 31st). However, at that time, none had been restored.
Acquisition incoming
SBTech is in the process of joining forces with Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corporation, in collaboration with DraftKings. DraftKings was acquired by Diamond Eagle in December 2019.
At around the same time, the US-based sports betting giant went live in New Hampshire.
