Protecting your gaming business from online threats does not need to cost a fortune, and the investment could save your company from disaster. It is estimated that by 2021 the total cost of cyber-attacks will exceed six trillion dollars! Many of the businesses targeted are small to medium-sized as these usually have less security than a large, global organization. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a Fortune 500 company to adequately protect yourself from any potential attack and we have written up a few tips on how to better protect your gaming company without breaking the bank.

Create a Firewall

All businesses should have a firewall in place, and this is more important for gaming companies with websites that handle their transactions online. A firewall is a barrier that allows you to monitor and restrict the interactions between internet users and your in-house systems. There is a wide range of firewall software available to protect your company, depending on your business needs. When comparing firewalls for your business, try to have a clear understanding of what you need and where your systems have a vulnerability, this will help you get the right solution in place to protect your company.

Restrict Traffic Depending on Location

One of the simplest methods to keep your gaming website safe if through restricting who has access to the platform. Many businesses enforce geo-restrictions for legal reasons, copyright infringement issues and pricing. A typical example is SkyCity Online Casino, a site using geo-restrictions to protect their gaming site from users who are outside New Zealand and unable to use the service. Applying a restriction on locations is easy, and they can detect users who are in a blacklisted region and either redirect the user to a version of the site in their area or to a notice that tells them why they can’t access the website. The restriction can also detect users who try to circumvent the block via a virtual private network, although this is not always possible.

Secure all Devices

Many data breaches occur through internal devices such as laptops and mobile phones being lost, stolen or misused. Companies can secure all the devices that have access to internal networks and emails by deploying security software that manages all the traffic going in and out. Administrators can set the rights for each device individually so employees can always access the software they need to perform their duties without having access to every piece of software in use at the company. Through using device security, you will also get full encryption so that other people can’t read any messages, emails, or discover passwords of the employees that are used for work.

Back-up Regularly

As with any critical data, you should ensure that all your systems are backed-up regularly. The data that businesses generate is often the real value within the company. Many of the largest organizations in the world such as Facebook, Amazon and Google are valued upon the data they have and can generate, and this makes them highly data sensitive. Online gaming businesses also have a tremendous amount of user data and payment information that needs to be kept safe. Servers and hard drives can crash, which can lead to massive data loss that can be negated by backing-up said data. As online gaming websites use the internet to complete transactions, the data used in these transactions can be highly valuable and very critical to ongoing operations. If you have no back-up plan in place, you should seriously look at getting this rectified as soon as possible.

Employee Training

The hardest part of business security is managing employee behavior and the steps they take to help enforce internal security. It is easy for workers to become relaxed about their electronic devices and how they connect with internal systems. Carry out regular security training sessions to reiterate to staff the importance of business security and run through the steps they need to take to keep the company safe from attacks. Ensure that their passwords are updated at regular intervals and that they are not easy to work out. Fraudsters often target employees as they are an easy target that they can gain access from. Give your staff regular, easy to follow and consistent security measures that they can implement. Your employees are often the most valuable asset at the business, but they do need to be reminded about how to handle security and the consequences of complaisance.

Install Anti-virus Software

Hackers and fraudsters are always coming up with new methods to gain access to your systems and installing an anti-virus program is one of the simplest ways you can limit the risks. Many hackers will send a virus that restricts your access to the systems and will ask for payment to remove it, or they will simply steal your data or destroy it, which can lead to massive problems. By having the latest anti-virus software for businesses protecting your systems, you will make it much harder to become susceptible to attacks. Remind your employees never to click on strange links or download files from users they don’t know, as most hackers will send their malicious code via these methods in the hope that someone activates it. Having good anti-virus software is not just for big businesses as small companies are more often than not the most common prey for the would-be attackers.

By following the steps outlined above, you will already be well on your way to ensuring your gaming company stays safe and secure from hackers or accidental data breaches. Review your security measures regularly and keep all your relevant software up-to-date by downloading the latest available versions. Make sure that you and your staff are diligent in their online activity and that you have clear, established security guidelines that are followed by all.