Nigerian Betting Site Bet9ja Suffers Cyber-Attack
Nigerian betting giant Bet9ja has been the victim of a suspected orchestrated hacking attack. The company has reassured customers that their funds are safe. Authorities are still investigating the incident, but belief is growing that Russia is behind the attacks.
One of Nigeria’s biggest and most well-known betting sites, Bet9ja, has been the victim of a hacking attack which has taken the website down and left customers unable to access their accounts. Sports betting is big business in Nigeria, one of Africa’s most densely populated countries.
Recent research shows that of the 212 million that call Nigeria home, 60 million are involved in some form of sports betting.
Nigerians are also one of the biggest spenders at online betting sites, with the average spend per person estimated at $15 or 3,000 nairas on wagering per day. This relatively high figure is despite soaring unemployment in the country.
In January 2017, the number of unemployed was 13.3%, this figure has risen in the four years since, and as of January 2021, the official rate is 33.3%.
Widely regarded as one of the best betting sites Nigeria has to offer, Bet9ja informed customers via social media that there was an issue with their platform. As a result, the company took to Twitter to inform customers. The tweet said:
“We are currently experiencing an issue with our website. This means you may not be able to log in. We take this matter very seriously, and our IT team is working on it as their number one priority right now.”
As short term issues with websites are usually due to server problems, many customers assumed the problem would be resolved quickly. However, the following day the issues still existed, and the company admitted it was a cyber-attack that had caused the issue.
Bet9ja said, “The Bet9ja betting platform, just like so many market-leading global organizations, has recently become a victim of a sophisticated criminal cyber-attack, which is restricting our customers from having access to the platform.
“We are working tirelessly with our IT team, independent forensics, and cybercrime experts to resolve this, we take this matter extremely seriously. Our priority is protecting our customers and you have our assurances that your accounts will not be compromised, and all your funds are safe.
“We apologize for this situation and once back online, we will reward our loyal customers with a truly sensational bonanza of promotions.”
Who is Suspected of Performing the Bet9ja Hack?
With one of the most significant Nigerian betting sites down due to the hack, many customers wanted to know who was behind the attack. The United States, one of the leading experts on global cyber-security, believes that the hack is the work of Russian activists. American experts highlight a surge of malware that they have removed from computer networks to thwart Russian cyberattacks.
Since Russian troops invaded Ukraine, there has been a surge of attacks on sports betting sites and other sites popular with consumers, and many believe it is part of a Russian strategy to wage a cyberwar.
Check Point Software Technologies carried out a study and discovered that globally, there were 40% more attacks on organizations in 2021 than in 2020. Attacks on online sports betting sites and other destinations increased significantly after the Covid crisis and peaked once again after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Online betting sites in Nigeria and organizations in Africa experienced the highest volume of attacks in 2021, with an average of 1,615 weekly attacks per organization. This figure is a 15% increase from last year.
Despite Africa not having the same levels of wealth as their European counterparts, it is the most targeted region for cyberattacks. The reason for this is likely to be the underdeveloped technology infrastructure on the continent.
Alongside sports betting sites in Nigeria, the sectors with the highest levels are education and research, with an average of 1,468 attacks each week. Government/research organizations are the second most targeted sector, with 1,082 average attacks per week. Healthcare is the third-highest hit sector, with 752 episodes per week, an increase of 21% from the previous year.
A spokesperson for e86 Limited, the owners of Bet9ja, confirmed that the US had warned about the increase in attacks. Saying: “Yes, we are likely to see more of that. The US government sent out a notice/warning about a week or two ago about impending attacks from Russia in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Every organization must beef up their security at this time. If there are things they have been cutting back on, now is the time to fix those things. For organizations that have always kept their infrastructure up to date, this will be a good time to have regular internal checks and thorough penetration testing done on their infrastructure.
“I hope that organizations won’t find out about attacks on their infrastructure when it’s too late to salvage anything.”
How Does a Hacker Attack a Nigerian Sports Betting Site?
While some attacks on sports betting sites in Nigeria are sophisticated attempts to steal customer account information, other attacks simply cause inconvenience. Often the hackers will use bots to flood websites with requests, meaning genuine visitors cannot load the page or experience slow speeds when the sports betting sites load.
Some of the common types of cyberattack include;
Backdoor Trojan – When a backdoor Trojan is deployed on a victim’s system, it creates a backdoor vulnerability which enables the attacker to gain remote and almost total control. Hackers will often use a Trojan on many different victims’ machines to create a botnet (zombie network) to orchestrate an attack.
XSS Attacks – One of the reasons you should always select a trustworthy company when choosing Nigerian betting sites is that rogue websites can infect your PC by a cross-site scripting (XSS) attack. Modified Microsoft VCScripts, ActiveX, and Adobe Flash files can install software, giving hackers control of your PC.
Denial-of-service (DoS) -A DoS attack is one of the most common types of attacks, and many sports betting sites are targeted by this method daily. As previously mentioned, a DoS attack floods a website with requests, putting massive pressure on the host’s server. As a result, visitors to the website may experience painfully slow loading and often an error message. Often big corporations are targeted. In 2020 Amazon fended off the largest distributed denial of service attack.
DNS tunneling – Criminals use DNS tunneling, a transactional protocol, to silently communicate with a server, such as a command and control (C&C) exchange. This method could be used, for example, to update a spreadsheet with personal information.
Malware – Malware is a malicious piece of software that can eventually render the computer inoperable when present on a victim’s machine. Additionally, malware can replicate itself and attacks vital resource, which cause a computer to slow down or even fail to boot.
Phishing – Phishing attacks are relatively low-tech attacks in which you are sent an email or a text message asking you to reset your password or to confirm you have made a purchase. Often emails are sent pretending to be from the best sports betting sites in Nigeria, offering great deals. However, any details the victim enters are sent to the hacker, who may use them to attempt to access accounts.
Ransomware – Ransomware is a sophisticated attack which uses powerful encryption to lock a computer or network. If a victim wants access to their systems and data, they must pay the hacker to obtain a password to remove the encryption. Many victims who do decide to pay the ‘ransom’, which can often be in excess of six figures, never receive their data back.
What Has the Nigerian Government Said on the Bet9ja Attack?
The National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) has stated they are aware of the incident and have condemned the cyber-attack. The regulator, which oversees betting sites in Nigeria, released a statement which read:
“The management of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission is using this medium to inform the general public that it is aware that KC Gaming Networks Limited (Bet9ja), one of the leading Sports Betting operators in Nigeria, recently suffered cyber-attacks on its operations.
“As the apex regulator of lotteries and gaming in Nigeria, we entirely condemn such a nefarious act that has adversely affected the company’s operations, howbeit temporarily. Furthermore, the NLRC is not unmindful of the challenges posed by this ugly situation to the Nigerian gaming public.”
The NLRC has assured customers that they are working closely with the sports betting site to ensure that no customer suffers financial loss due to the account. They ask the public to be patient while finding a solution to the problem.
