Since 2014, Ukraine has been under constant pressure from cyber attacks, mainly from Russian state-owned APT groups, and during this time, phishing and DDoS attacks have managed to turn from an extraordinary event into a regular work routine. Mykhailo Zborovskyi Cosmobet (ex-owner), an expert in the development of iGaming products, claims that the only strategy that really works in such conditions is to run faster than the problem.
Digital threats as a daily routine, not an exception
Mykhailo Zborovskyi begins his argument by stating a fact that has already ceased to be news for Ukrainian business.
“Digital threats have become literally a daily routine for Ukrainian business,” notes Mykhailo Zborovskyi.
According to him, companies have long ceased to be surprised by phishing campaigns or DDoS attacks; they have become commonplace, rather than an extraordinary event requiring a separate anti-crisis response. Such a level of constant pressure, according to his observations, paradoxically forces businesses to adapt faster than in a calmer regulatory environment.
Gambling is a sector with the highest stakes for cybercriminals
Separately, Mykhailo Zborovskyi singles out areas that work with large volumes of personal and financial data, and legal online gambling here stands on a par with the financial sector. Such companies simultaneously attract significant volumes of users and become targets for cybercriminals and intelligence agencies seeking access to confidential information.
This combination of a massive flow of personal data plus financial transactions makes the sector particularly vulnerable, and that is why, according to Zborovsky, the requirements for protection here are traditionally higher than for the average business.
Technical solutions that the industry is already implementing
Mykhailo Zborovskyi emphasizes that developers, in particular gambling developers, are already really succeeding in this proactive strategy in practice. Among the specific measures he names:
- Multi-layered protection;
- Testing the zero-trust approach, a security model that does not trust any user or device by default and requires constant verification before granting access;
- Restricting access rights;
- Constantly updating the protective infrastructure.
Restricting access rights and constantly updating the protective infrastructure are added to this list. According to the expert, it is the combination of these measures, and not a separate technical solution, that allows the industry to keep pace with attackers, not behind them.
Trust as a business asset
One of Zborovsky’s most practical arguments concerns the direct connection between security and business results.
“Today, security is the basis of trust,” Mykhailo Zborovskyi summarizes.
He cites specific statistics. According to Cisco, 94% of users refuse to use services they do not trust. In his own practice, Mykhailo Zborovskyi has repeatedly seen how a single data leak destroyed what the team had been building for years, so, in his opinion, data security should be built into the very architecture of the product from the first lines of code.
A look from the other side
The expert’s arguments describe the real and documented progress of individual market players, but it is worth adding a few caveats. The ability to outrun a problem requires significant ongoing investments in the team and infrastructure, which are available primarily to large and financially stable companies; smaller industry players, especially illegal or semi-legal operators, often simply do not have the resources to implement zero-trust and multi-layered protection.
Mykhailo Zborovskyi main argument can be formulated as follows. In an environment where cyberattacks have become a daily routine, a “respond after the incident” defense strategy is no longer sufficient. The gambling industry, one of the first sectors to be subjected to the constant pressure of cyberthreats, has become a kind of testing ground for proactive approaches to security.
