The ease with which gamers can access their favorite titles anywhere they are, at home, at work, or on the go, has seen online iGaming (and gaming) become a go-to for many people. But in the same breath, data theft and cyber fraud appear to be on the rise, with more cyber criminals on the hunt for low-hanging fruit, looking to intercept user personal and financial data. To put this into perspective: nearly one billion emails were intercepted this past year, with over 200 million ransomware attacks globally.
These extremes of the same spectrum mean more people are critical of the technologies employed by websites they share their data with, and one of the processes that have been in place, employed by most online platforms with an eye for security, is encryption.
How Does Encryption Work in iGaming Platforms?
The simplest way to understand encryption is to think of it as a secret message between you and a friend that is unreadable and cannot be understood without the cipher or decryption key. When cybercriminals intercept encrypted data, it becomes effectively useless as they do not have the decryption key.
Technologies like Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption allow you to encrypt the data you send and receive from your choice of online casino. While often used interchangeably, SSL and TLS are not the same. The best casinos know this difference, which is why top pick options, with the instantcasino hub as an example, have the TLS protocol deployed on their website so users can enjoy the most secure protection. Beyond the vast game selection and freebies on offer, top casinos understand the need for users to feel comfortable when they browse their platforms.
Handshakes and Cipher Suites
The handshake is how your browser authenticates the SSL or TLS certificates before cryptographic keys are exchanged, and then data can be shared. The new TLS protocol uses an implicit connection with far fewer processes, ensuring a faster and smoother connection and, ultimately, more secure data exchange.
On the other hand, the cipher suite is a host of different algorithms that create keys that encrypt the information being shared between the server and the browser. The SSL cipher suite typically includes a Message Authentication Code (MAC) algorithm, a Key Exchange algorithm, a Bulk Encryption algorithm, and a Validation algorithm. All of these are present in the TLS protocol but have been updated to protect against some of the SSL security concerns.
What Does Encryption Entail?
From the above, we know two things: SSL and TLS are used to encrypt data, and TLS is the newer version with more bells and whistles. But what exactly does having these technologies do? Here are some of the many things encryption, when done correctly, offers:
Protecting User Personal Data
Access to personal information like birth dates, names, and house addresses is Christmas for cybercriminals because they can use this information to gain access to social media profiles, hack email addresses, corporate espionage, financial fraud, identity theft, or just as quickly sell the information on the dark web, and this is where encryption comes in.
Because your data is encrypted, an unauthorized party cannot access the decryption key to make sense of the information you are sharing with the server of your choice of online casino. This, coupled with the data protection laws that are mandated for all online casinos, like the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) in the USA and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, gives users full authority over their data, with a choice to access and have it deleted at will.
Safeguarding User Financial Data
A large part of online casino gaming is depositing and withdrawing money. While newer establishments are adding more social and interactive features, it does not take away from the fact that, primarily, online casinos are mostly about how much money you can put in versus how much you can get out. Whatever your choice of deposit and withdrawal, with direct transfers, credit and debit cards, digital or eWallets, it is important that your login credentials are protected from foreign parties.
Future of Online Casino Security
With emerging threats like quantum computing on the horizon, it has become pertinent to see what the future of online casino security promises. Two technologies promise plenty: blockchain and AI:
Blockchain Technology
One of the major selling points of blockchain technology is its decentralized nature. What this means is that no one person controls the ledger, and no one person or group of people can falsify the records, which is why it is perfect to record cryptocurrency trades without a central authority. This decentralization has found use in online casinos, which now allow users to transact on their platforms with cryptocurrency, removing the need for them to provide their KYC information, which is necessary if they intend to use direct transfer, credit, and debit cards, among other payment methods.
Artificial Intelligence
AI is expected to bolster the encryption technologies used by online casinos in many ways. One many people are particularly excited about is dynamic encryption. Unlike static options, which remain the same regardless of the situation or user, this encryption method is constantly changing, making it difficult to penetrate. It can also be the solution to post-quantum cryptography issues being predicted.
Combined with advanced key management, which ensures the encryption keys are better managed and securely stored, and automated security audits, which make threat detection and response near instant, there’s little to no doubt that encryption of future online casinos will be supercharged with AI technology.
Summary
Encryption is an important addition for all service providers that cater to users over the internet. Even more so in situations where users have to share sensitive information, like in the case of online casinos.
While these encryption technologies offer several benefits, it is important that users know they are not fail-proof and that they still bear some of the responsibility of protecting themselves on the internet.