Through means such as cameras and facial recognition technology, casinos combat physical security threats and cheating every day. In addition to safeguarding against those violating game rules, casinos also need to address the invisible threats. Hackers threaten the two most vital resources a casino has: its patrons and its gaming investments.
Casinos collect copious amounts of personal player data, including credit and debit card numbers, names, addresses, and other associated information. This information, often stored in a large, centralized database, presents a tempting target to thieves. Criminals threaten not only patron information, but also pose a risk to in-game currency, distribution of player credit, player rewards point systems, and the games themselves. Any information stored on a computer in software is susceptible to a business-crippling attack.
Internal breaches, whether by intentional attack or through accidental misuse of privilege is also a possibility. With the amount of activity and traffic that casinos see, maintaining large staffs and an even larger client bases, it is hard for casino operators to keep track of all of the activity that takes place within their walls. In addition to these threats, casinos must defend the integrity of the games they offer. A skilled hacker, accessing source code or protected information, need not be physically present to effect game functionality or payout percentage. Hardened cryptographic solutions protect the functionality and integrity of one of the most popular games: slot machines. Cryptographic devices with multiple functionalities, such as key management, encryption, storage, and centralized management can be applied to safeguard casinos from the possibility of a data breach. However casinos choose to protect their data, it must be secure against internal and external intrusion.
