On Thursday, judicial authorities announced that they have filed criminal charges against one Joseph Garrison, who along with his accomplices, ingeniously carried out a crime involving the theft of $600,000 spread across 1,600 accounts. This was part of a cyberattack launched on renowned sportsbook operators in November 2022.
The same month saw a comparable strike targeted at one of the industry’s dominant players, FanDuel. However, FanDuel contends that its security measures were resilient enough to repel the attack, therefore ensuring that none of their users were compromised.
DraftKings Reactions to Recent Progress Following Cyber Attacks
In response to this development, DraftKings provided a press release that was disseminated to various media houses, including CNBC, who did the original coverage of the incident. The company emphasised in its response that the welfare of its users is of the utmost importance. The response read:
We extend our gratitude to law enforcement authorities, which includes the FBI and U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York, for promptly bringing the alleged miscreants to book.
DraftKings
Besides, DraftKings also affirmed that all impacted users have been reimbursed. Following the attack, an alert was triggered, sparking off a manhunt for the culprits. Joseph Garrison’s residence was visited by investigators on February 23. With a legitimate search warrant, they discovered several electronic gadgets, including phones and computers, which they concluded were used to orchestrate the attack and as a communication channel with the accomplices.
Garrison Allegedly Claims, “Fraud Is So Fun”
The prosecution of Garrison continues to gather pace. Should he be convicted of the slew of charges staring him in the face, which include conspiracy to undertake computer intrusion, unauthorized access to a protected computer for aiding intended fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and wire fraud conspiracy, he may be staring down the barrel of a jail term possibly lasting up to 20 years.
These cyberattacks occur amidst a backdrop of surging interest in the sports betting industry across the U.S. This only underscores the necessity for betting companies to have sterling security protocols in place. One of the visuals secured from Garrison’s possessions reveals the defendant expressing glee about fraudulent activities, with a quote that states, “fraud is so fun.”
