The NLRC Speaks About the Recent Hacking of Popular Bookie Bet9ja

It is suspected that certain groups of hackers are targeting Nigerian websites and unfortunately, the first victim is one of the country’s popular sportsbooks, Bet9ja.

Sports betting is one of the country’s popular activities. Many Nigerians are placing bets on online casinos and bookies including Bitcoin casinos USA. And so, we can say that Bet9ja is one of the sites in the country with a lot of traffic.  That said, the attack that happened on this site is a big issue.

Last week, Bet9ja announced on Twitter that they are having website issues as the customers were unable to log in to their accounts. 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.”

Many thought it was just a problem with the server but the following day, Bet9ja announced that they have been a victim of a cyber-attack. In a statement released, 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 are the Hackers?

There are now suspicions that Russian hackers are behind the attack that happened on the popular sportsbook. This suspicion came out of the United States that they have removed malware from computer networks around the world over the last few weeks to avoid Russian cyberattacks.

There have been worries and concerns about the possibility of a cyberwar with Russia since the country’s attempt to invade Ukraine.

Surely, it’s not going to be the first time that something like this would happen. Back then, certain big US sites including USA Online Casinos for real money experienced cyberattacks. But since having the suspicion of Russia starting a cyberwar, the US has been very mindful of what they are doing online.

They found the removal of malware from networks around the world necessary because they have intel that Russia is planning to attack important American infrastructures.

The founder of e86 Limited, the company behind Bet9ja, spoke about the notice that the US sent before the incident. He said, “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.”

The founder also added that Nigerians should be worried about an increase in cyber-attacks which may be an attempt to cripple the productivity of different organizations worldwide.

What the Government Has to Say

The NLRC has already spoken about the recent incident and said that they condemn what happened. In a statement released by the regulatory board, they said:

“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 also assured that they are working closely with Bet9ja to ensure that no loss will be suffered by any of their customers. They are hoping for the patience of the customers as the company is still working on restoring its normal operations as soon as they could.