Poker and Online Privacy: Protecting Your Identity and Data
In today’s world, online privacy is a serious concern for everyone. Not only is your name, address, and phone number usually just an internet search away, your financial information is at risk with every single transaction. That seemingly innocuous Amazon order, your online payment of a utility bill, and your Facebook account that you once used to donate to an animal rescue organization are all transactions that a hacker would love to access.
Online poker is no different. When you use a payment processor to deposit money to an online gaming site, your information is at risk. However, it is the same risk as any other online payment. Hackers work overtime trying to access your data in any way possible.
While no one is 100% safe, there are ways to maximize your safety online, especially within the world of online poker, igaming, and online sports betting.
General Privacy Concerns
Many people underestimate the value of your personal data. Your email address, phone number, and home address are all advertising tools that are valuable to companies. And some vendors and service providers have no qualms about selling your personal data to third parties.
- Tip: Always read the fine print of the “privacy agreement” and “general terms” of an online poker site. This will tell you if and how the company will distribute your personal data to third parties.
Using ACR Poker as an example, let’s look at its security page. In the confidentiality section, the company notes that it protects its players’ personal information under the laws of Costa Rica, where parent company Winning Poker Network is based.
Further, it notes that it does collect personal information through the KYC (Know Your Customer) process. They must verify your identity and compare it with banking information in order to ensure that you are receiving your payments as the person you claim to be. It is standard procedure in the online gaming world, as it is a legal (usually mandatory) protection for the customer against identity theft and protection for the company against fraud and money laundering.
As a part of KYC, the company will disclose your personal information only to third parties necessary in the verification and payment processes. “We will take reasonable measures to ensure the confidentiality and security of your information during transmission and storage,” the company acknowledges. But there is a caveat. “However, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of any information shared with third parties.”
This is also standard wording per legal counsel. In the case of hacking or unethical behavior by a third party, the customer agrees not to hold ACR Poker accountable.
- Suggestion: If you can’t find the confidentiality and privacy agreement on a website, contact its customer service department to ask for the link. And if you are unsure about the wording of a disclaimer or confidentiality clause, ask questions of the representative, or check reputable security companies for standard wording in third-party data-sharing agreements.
Hacking and DDoS Attacks
Hacking is very common. It happens in all industries around the world, as some people well-versed in technology choose to infiltrate a company’s data system and steal that data. Cybercrime is notoriously difficult to investigate, too, as the policing of these crimes is not at a level that allows law enforcement authorities to find the criminals, obtain the evidence, and prosecute the criminals.
The most common form of hacking in the world of igaming is a DoS or DDoS attack. This involves a cybercriminal interrupting an entire network of services by sending a ridiculous number of requests to the site so as to disrupt its system. Such an attack targets a particular service, such as an online poker site.
One possible goal is to simply disrupt the service, to knock a poker site offline, which creates a massive headache for the site as it struggles to fix the system and suffer the loss of revenue while players are unable to play. Further, it often requires the operator to reimburse players for the value lost when the attack happened.
Another goal, however, can be to hold the poker site hostage. By taking down an entire website and holding it for a ransom, it can often procure a payment to stop the attack. That ransom may be cheaper than the business is would lose during an outage.
Finally, the goal of a DoS (denial of service) or DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack may be to hack into the system when it is unavailable to the operators and steal the personal data of the players.
In most cases, when a poker site suffers such an attack, it works frantically behind the scenes to fix it. Though the attack is not the operator’s fault, as even the most securely encrypted sites are susceptible, it is always in the best interest of the operator to reimburse players generously for the inconvenience.
The most concerning aspect of this type of attack on poker sites is that most operators do not have public policies or terms outlining the protocol in such situations. Further, there is often no public disclosure of the type of attack that took the site offline, especially if the operator can rectify the situation quickly and quietly.
- Tip: Ask a customer service representative for a written policy or statement regarding the occurrence of a hack or attack, if this is a concerning issue when signing up for a poker site.
Protecting Your Own Data
Aside from due diligence to ensure that your favorite poker site operates ethically, you have to trust the technology. From the encryption methods used by the operator to the strength of its security team, the safety of your data is often in their hands.
There are actions you can take, however, to protect your data.
As mentioned, you can reach out to the support team at a poker site to ask about their third-party data policies and their methods of dealing with hackers and DDoS attacks. Much can be done on your end, though.
The most obvious protection method is to ensure that you use unique usernames and passwords, changing the passwords regularly for your online poker sites as well as your connections to financial institutions and payment apps.
- Tip: Keep a handwritten list of passwords so you can change them often without having to remember each one.
You should also ensure that your internet connection is private and secure. Whether using a router at home or a smartphone wifi connection, you can secure those lines with passwords. Clearing your browsing data is also smart, as well as using a VPN (virtual private network) to create a barrier between your personal information and the wider internet.
More than general security, though, you can make sure the websites you frequent, like online poker sites, employ 2FA, or two-factor authentication. It requires an extra moment or two to log in, but it is a way to double your protection by requiring that the site verify your identity twice.
- Tip: Most websites now allow you to enable 2FA. On ACR Poker, for example, you can find the option in the “settings” tab in your poker client. Click on “2FA security,” pick an option, and then click “activate.”
There is a great deal about technology that one person cannot control. But you can take a few minutes to take a few extra steps that can further protect own identity and data.
