Leading managed hosting, connectivity, cloud, and cybersecurity provider to the gambling industry, Continent 8 Technologies, has welcomed Jerad Swimmer to its global sales team as the business continues to expand at scale and pace.Gaming executive with more than 30 years of tribal, gaming and cybersecurity experience joins global infrastructure and cybersecurity business
Leading managed hosting, connectivity, cloud, and cybersecurity provider to the gambling industry, Continent 8 Technologies, has welcomed Jerad Swimmer to its global sales team as the business continues to expand at scale and pace.
Jerad is a highly experienced business development executive with 33 years of experience in the global gaming industry. He has worked for seven Tribes and held positions at Gaming Laboratories International, FABI Cash, Indigo Sky Casino, and 13 other gaming facilities, as well as serving under the Quapaw Tribal Gaming Agency and the Eastern Shawnee Tribal Gaming Commission. He joins Continent 8 from BIG Cyber where he was Director of Business Development for the past 12 months.
Based in Miami, Oklahoma, he will bring this vast tribal and cybersecurity experience to the role of Regional Sales Director at Continent 8, where he will be responsible for supporting the company’s growth across North America. With his knowledge of the North American Tribal landscape, he will be focused on empowering Tribal and commercial gaming operators, ensuring these businesses have the very best infrastructure solutions and cybersecurity protections in place to succeed in the competitive landscape.
Michael Tobin, Chief Executive Officer and Founder at Continent 8 Technologies, said: “I’d like to give a warm welcome to Jerad who becomes the latest member of our global sales team.
“Jerad is an industry veteran, with a deep understanding of the US market and the infrastructure and cybersecurity solutions businesses need to succeed in tightly regulated and highly competitive markets. With Jerad on board, we can continue to deliver a world-class experience to our existing customers while engaging those yet to work with us.”
Jerad Swimmer, Regional Sales Director at Continent 8 Technologies, added: “It’s an honour to join Continent 8’s global sales team and to be able to support the business with its plans for the North American market, specifically focused on developing relationships with Tribal businesses and Tribal leaders. As a proud member of the United Keetoowah Band and growing up in the gaming industry, I must do my absolute best to protect Tribal country and Tribal assets; the biggest asset being the youth which is the future of our Tribes.
“I look forward to working closely with Tribal Governments, operators, regulators, and suppliers over the coming months and helping them to find the right cybersecurity solutions for their needs. After all, cyber risks are at an all-time high, and all businesses must be prepared. This is an aspect of business that simply can’t be ignored, and Continent 8 has the solutions and services needed to ensure resilience and protect sovereignty, assets, networks, systems, and data.”
Jerad will be attending RES 2024, presented by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, March 11-14, 2024, in Las Vegas.
Global digital infrastructure solutions provider expands within state through new strategic site opening, further ramping up its disaster recovery capabilities, coupled with the West Virginia [Lottery] regulatory approval for its recognised public cloud solution catering to the online sports betting and iGaming verticals
Continent 8 Technologies, the renowned provider of digital infrastructure including managed hosting, managed network and cybersecurity solutions to operators and suppliers in the fast-growing North American market and beyond, is ramping up its offering in West Virginia with the opening of an additional site.
Continent 8 has deployed an ambitious first-to-market approach in the United States, notably going live in West Virginia via a site in South Charleston in 2018, permitting customers to hit the ground running when online sports betting launched in August later that year.
Located over 200 miles away from the South Charleston site, Continent 8, in partnership with the Seneca Rocks Regional Development Authority, has now officially opened its data centre in Petersburg, West Virginia. As a result, it now adds true disaster recovery and enhanced business continuity to its suite of solutions available to operators and suppliers in the state via this dedicated site. Both sites are PCI DSS compliant.
Further expanding its solutions and capabilities in the state, Continent 8 has received approval by the gambling regulator in West Virginia, for its powerful Public Cloud solution, currently live across the majority of regulated gaming states across the US. Meeting strict regulatory requirements, operators and suppliers can take advantage of the flexible, usage-based model for those looking to enter the market.
Michael Tobin, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Continent 8 Technologies, said: “We are thrilled to have added a second site, allowing us to expand our offering to include disaster recovery, as well as our approved Public Cloud solution in our original site, further establishing Continent 8 as the leading infrastructure provider in the North American market.
“Infrastructure is the foundation operators and suppliers need to succeed, and that’s why the biggest players come to Continent 8. Our solutions, customer service, reputation and experience are unrivalled.”
Continent 8 is the leading infrastructure provider in North America for the online gambling industry, with 85% of operators on the 2023 EGR US Power Rankings using its suite of managed hosting and connectivity solutions. In West Virginia, it is live with over 20 of the biggest brands operating in the state.
Continent 8 is live in 30 US states with significant investment planned to further expand its multi-site footprint across numerous states, continuously adding to its global connected network of 100+ locations across four continents.
Craig Lusher, Product Principal [Secure Solutions], discusses the recently uncovered iOS Trojan designed to steal users’ facial recognition data, identify documents, and intercept SMS.
In an era where digital threats are increasingly sophisticated, the discovery of the GoldFactory iOS Trojan, as reported by Group-IB, underscores a critical challenge for businesses and individuals alike. This advanced iOS Trojan, designed to infiltrate iPhones through malicious applications, represents a significant escalation in the cyber threat landscape, particularly for users who assume iOS devices are immune to such risks.
The Trojan, named GoldFactory, exploits a method that bypasses Apple’s stringent app review process, enabling cybercriminals to distribute their malicious software via seemingly benign applications. Once installed, GoldFactory can execute a range of malicious activities, from stealing sensitive facial biometric information to executing phishing attacks, posing a substantial risk to data security and privacy.
Continent 8’s response with Mobile ProtectIn response to evolving mobile threats like GoldFactory, Continent 8 Technologies’ Mobile Protect service stands as a defence against mobile cyber threats. Our solution is designed to safeguard iOS and Android devices against a wide spectrum of cyber attacks, including sophisticated Trojans, malware, and phishing schemes.
Mobile Protect leverages cutting-edge technology to provide real-time threat detection and response, ensuring that even the most advanced Trojans, such as GoldFactory, are identified and neutralised before they can inflict harm. The service employs a multi-layered security approach, combining endpoint protection with continuous monitoring and threat intelligence, to offer comprehensive protection for mobile devices.
The advent of Trojans like GoldFactory presents significant business challenges, from the risk of data breaches and financial loss to reputational damage. Continent 8’s Mobile Protect service directly addresses these challenges by:
The detection of the GoldFactory iOS Trojan serves as a stark reminder of the evolving cyber threat landscape and the need for robust security measures. Continent 8 Technologies, through its Mobile Protect service, offers an effective solution to these challenges, providing iGaming casino and sportsbook businesses and their mobile users with the highest level of protection against mobile cyber threats.
As cybercriminals continue to innovate, the importance of proactive and comprehensive security measures cannot be overstated. With Mobile Protect, Continent 8 Technologies reaffirms its commitment to securing the digital frontier, ensuring that businesses can operate with confidence in a connected world.
To learn more about Mobile Protect click here or reach out to a member of the team via sales@continent8.com
Craig Lusher from our Secure team reveals the DDoS stats for the final quarter of 2023 and looks back at attack trends for the iGaming industry across the previous 12 months
The fourth quarter saw a total of 187 DDoS attacks launched against Continent 8 customers, a significant decrease from the 1,106 recorded in Q2 and the 359 in Q3. In fact, Q4 was the second-lowest month in terms of attacks, coming in just behind Q1 where 184 attacks were registered.
Before looking at how attack trends played out across the year, let’s first analyse the data from Q4 to understand attack characteristics over the three months.
In the fourth quarter, the intensity of attacks peaked in October with 84 separate incidents recorded with 44 in November and 59 in December. Over the period, a total of 27 customers were attacked making it a widespread issue rather than being isolated to a few organisations.
Malta was the most targeted location, suggesting a geographical focus of the attacks perhaps because of vulnerabilities that had been exploited.
Interestingly, there were no repeat attacks on the same day, indicating that each attack was a unique event. This implies that attacks were well-mitigated after the first occurrence or that attackers did not persist on the same targets within 24 hours.
The average number of attacks experienced by each customer was seven, but the most affected single customer experienced 49 attacks, significantly higher than the average. This suggests that some customers are at greater risk than others and may require additional protective measures.
The largest attack size was 412.9 Gbps but the average attack size throughout the quarter was 2.7Gbps. This is a significant disparity and suggests that while most attacks were relatively small, there were significant outliers that boosted the average.
Across the quarter, only one attack exceeded 100 Gbps which underscores the exceptional nature of the largest attack. The average attack duration was 42 minutes with the longest attack lasting just 3.3 hours, the shortest of the year – the longest attack came in Q2 and lasted a staggering 799.7 hours.
For the fourth quarter, the peak megapackets per second (MPPS) rate came in at 36, the second highest of the year behind the 316.9 recorded in Q2, providing insight into the intensity and potential impact of the attacks.
The Q4 stats show a need for targeted DDoS mitigation strategies, especially in high-risk months and for customers who are more frequently targeted. The data also helps enhance our DDoS Mitigation Solution, allocating more resources during peak attack periods and in regions such as Malta.
The fourth quarter of 2023 sits in stark contrast to 4Q22 where Continent 8 blocked a total of 3,367 separate DDoS events during a well-orchestrated campaign that coincided with the World Cup and the Christmas Holidays.
While the volume of attacks dipped significantly in 1Q23, the second quarter saw a significant resurgence in terms of the volume and size of attacks.
Q2 would become the standout quarter during the year with a total of 1,106 separate attacks blocked between April and June. This compares with 184 attacks in Q1, 359 in Q3 and 187 in Q4.
The most attacked locations were Kahnawake (Q1), Paris (Q2), Isle of Man (Q3) and Malta (Q4) with January, May, July and October being the months with the most DDoS attacks recorded. The number of unique customer attacks was 83, 29, 24 and 27 respectively.
The highest number of attacks against a single customer came in Q2, with 669 recorded, followed by 98 in Q3, 49 in Q4 and 31 in Q1. The longest single attack lasted 799.7 hours (Q2) with the shortest coming in at 3.3 hours in Q4 – in Q1 it was 5 hours and in Q3, 20 hours.
In terms of trends, Q1 saw a relatively high number of customers attacked at 83 but with a modest number of total attacks and the largest attack size of 49.5 Gbps. This shows that while attacks were frequent, they were less severe.
But Q2 presents a stark contrast. Despite a smaller number of customers being attacked (29), the total number of attacks was incredibly high with a remarkably large attack size of 560.6 Gbps. The high number of attacks against a single customer and the unprecedented longest attack time indicated a period of sustained, severe attacks.
In Q3 the focus of attacks shifted to the Isle of Man in July. The frequency of attacks and the number of customers impacted dropped. So too did the size of the largest attack but at 149.7 Gbps it was still substantial, denoting a continued threat.
For Q4, the size of the largest attack was once again on the rise, coming in at 412.9 Gbps indicating a resurgence in attack severity. That said, the highest number of attacks on a single customer and the longest attack duration were both down, suggesting effective mitigation of attack efforts.
In summary, 2023 began with frequent but less severe attacks which peaked in intensity during Q2 and especially in Paris. As we moved into the second half of the year, we saw signs of decreasing frequency and severity.
That said, the large attack sizes in Q4 indicated that while attacks may have become less frequent, their potential impact remains high, and businesses absolutely must have the protections in place to defend their systems, networks and data against DDoS attacks.
Our data and analysis should also be used to inform cybersecurity strategies moving forward and for resource allocation for DDoS mitigation efforts.
Our service provides complete layer 3 through 7 DDoS mitigation with bespoke profiling. Over the past year, Continent 8 has significantly enhanced its DDoS protection service through major upgrades to its network, DDoS platform and customer systems. We have streamlined our Tier 1 provisions by optimising the number of providers and doubling capacity. This was achieved by optimising the number of tier 1 providers, allowing for more efficient global traffic management and engineering.
Additionally, the DDoS service improvements include the introduction of a new scrubbing centre in Denver, which utilises the A10 TPS model consistent with previous deployments and increases the overall DDoS scrubbing capacity available. The expansion of the network edge with Juniper devices across multiple global locations, including NWK1, LON1, and HKG1, enhances the network’s resilience and capacity. These devices offer a significant capacity upgrade, supporting up to 4.8 Tbps, which is a substantial increase over the legacy models.
Furthermore, enhancements to the internal systems and the Customer Portal & API have been made, including the addition of 21 new features, redesigning of six existing features, and the resolution of 29 bugs. These improvements aim to enhance customer experience by providing better notifications, visibility of real-time events, and access to downloadable reports, thereby improving the overall effectiveness and responsiveness of the DDoS protection service.
To learn more about how Continent 8 can help defend your organisation against DDoS attacks with its iGaming cybersecurity solutions, contact a member of the team or head here for more info.
Sebastian Fernandez and Luana Monje join the global digital infrastructure provider to drive further strategic efforts in the region
Continent 8 Technologies continues to grow its global commercial team following the appointment of Sebastian Fernandez and Luana Monje as Sales Executives.
Sebastian will be based out of Buenos Aires in Argentina and joins Continent 8 from IT giant Dell Technologies, where he spent more than 12 years across several roles including a Senior Systems Engineer and most recently Account Executive.
Luana comes to Continent 8 from AWS (Amazon Web Services) where she held the role of Demand Generation Representative. Based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, she has a deep understanding of the region which has just passed legislation to legalise online sports betting and casino.
Both Sebastian and Luana will be responsible for nurturing relationships with Continent 8’s existing Latin American customers, helping them to maximise the potential of its solutions and services from cloud hosting and connectivity to layered cybersecurity.
They will also support new customers looking to make a move in the region, particularly Brazil which is expected to generate approximately $2.6bn per year (gross gaming revenue) by 2026 according to KPMG. Continent 8 will be live in Brazil to support customers with its full suite of solutions in the coming months.
Brian Koh, Chief Commercial Officer at Continent 8 Technologies, said: “I would like to extend a very warm welcome to Sebastian and Luana who join Continent 8 at a pivotal time for the LATAM gambling market.
“Latin America is a thriving market with a lot of latent potential, something that the opening of Brazil will help to unlock. We are well positioned to help customers looking to launch into this market, and Luana will undoubtedly play a significant role in ensuring they go live with the best infrastructure and security in place.”
Sebastian Fernandez, Sales Executive at Continent 8 Technologies, added: “I’m excited to be joining the Continent 8 team and to bring over a decade of IT experience to this role. This is an incredibly exciting region with huge potential on the table, but organisations must have the right infrastructure in place if they are to maximise the opportunity. This is something that Continent 8 is renowned for, and we look forward to working with businesses across the region.”
Luana Monje, Sales Executive at Continent 8 Technologies, added: “I couldn’t ask for a better start to the year. I look forward to sharing my AWS expertise and knowledge of the LatAm market with the team and of course our customers.”
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Watch the recording to understanding the risks and challenges associated with the groundbreaking AI technology.
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Leading global digital infrastructure solutions provider supports customer growth in the newly-regulated online sports betting state
Continent 8 Technologies, an award-winning managed hosting, connectivity, and cybersecurity solutions provider has bolstered its presence in the US market going live in the state of Vermont.
Through its data center located in the Burlington region, the infrastructure provider is supporting the nation’s largest online sports betting platforms including DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics.
With online sports betting legalized in Vermont on 16 June 2023, it is expected to generate nearly $7m in proceeds for the state in its first full year of legal sports betting, according to government officials. In December 2023, the Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery announced the go-live date of 11 January, as well as the three operators that have been awarded licenses.
As a strategic technology solutions provider of choice, Continent 8 has consistently driven an ambitious first-to-market approach, allowing its customers to be ready to launch from day one of a state opening. The new site augments Continent 8’s market-leading offering in the US, where it is now live in 30 states.
Michael Tobin, Founder and CEO of Continent 8 Technologies, said: “We are proud to be able to support our customers in their strategic launch in one of the year’s most anticipated newly regulated online sports betting states. We have been relentless in our pursuit as a market leader and putting customers first.
“Our bold, first-to-market approach, done so over 25 years, is one of the many reasons our global customers continue to trust us with their mission critical technology and have developed such close strategic partnerships for decades. We are extremely excited to be planting a flag in the state of Vermont, not only for the future of the business, but one where I have a strong personal history.”
Technical expert joins leading infrastructure provider as it continues to enhance its cloud team and product offering
Continent 8 Technologies, the award-winning provider of managed hosting, cloud, connectivity and security solutions to the global gambling industry, has appointed Amazon Web Services (AWS) specialist, Matteo Gabrielli, as Senior Technical Solutions Architect.
The appointment strengthens Continent 8’s expert cloud team and in particular its AWS solutions and services, with Matteo joining directly from AWS where he was Senior Solutions Architect for Digital Native Businesses.
Matteo has an impressive technical background, holding several positions at AWS over a four-and-a-half-year tenure. During this time, he supported a wide range of businesses in the betting and gaming industry, providing them with technical guidance to help them innovate and build cloud solutions on AWS.
At Continent 8, Matteo will strategically support and maintain relationships with its customers to ensure they are getting the most out of their infrastructure and services. This includes helping with the delivery of AWS products, as well as developing the cloud product roadmap to best serve its growing customer base.
Edward O’Connor, Chief Technology Officer at Continent 8 Technologies, said: “Matteo is a very important hire as we continue to enhance our cloud offering to better support our customers with their hybrid and public cloud strategy.
“Matteo has a great deal of customer-facing solutions experience. That we can bring in someone as experienced and talented as Matteo demonstrates our commitment to expanding our cloud business and collaboration with AWS as an advanced partner.
“Our customers already trust us with the deployment and management of their AWS Outpost solutions and they leverage extensive network peering with AWS; we’re going to offer customers so much more in 2024 and our new team members will play a big role in that.”
Matteo’s appointment comes hot on the heels of Carl Bonner joining Continent 8 as Regional Sales Director. Carl is also an experienced AWS specialist, and the addition of Matteo is further evidence of Continent 8’s commitment to its multi-cloud strategy.
Matteo Gabrielli, Senior Technical Solutions Architect at Continent 8 Technologies, added: “I am excited to support Continent 8’s incredible customer base in maximising the potential of the cloud.
“Continent 8 has built a great team of cloud specialists and I’m thrilled to be working alongside some truly talented people as we continue to enhance our offering and strengthen our relationship with customers by supporting them on their cloud journey.”
Meet Matteo and the full Continent 8 team at ICE London, 6 – 8 February 2024 at ExCeL London, stand N3-110.
Infrastructure provider strengthens commercial team as it continues to push ahead with ambitious expansion plans in the US
Continent 8 Technologies has further expanded its global sales team with the appointment of Andrew Mudge as Regional Sales Director. This is the latest in a series of important commercial hires as the company continues to scale at pace.
Mudge is a global gaming specialist who has spent more than eight years working in various roles at international IT service partner, Viadex Global. He has significant experience in helping online gambling operators and suppliers leverage infrastructure to drive growth.
For the past 12 months, he has been focused on Viadex Global’s US business, a market where Continent 8 has been deploying an ambitious expansion plan and where it is already live in 30 states and counting.
Mudge will use this market experience and deep understanding of IT infrastructure to support the company’s existing US customers while making more operators and suppliers aware of the solutions and services it has to offer.
This includes award-winning global managed hosting, connectivity, cloud and security solutions. By taking a first-to-market approach in the US, Continent 8 has emerged as the go-to infrastructure provider for the biggest names in the business, supporting 85% of operators on the EGR Power US Rankings 2023.
Brian Koh, Vice President, Sales & Chief Commercial Officer at Continent 8 Technologies, said: “Andrew is a great addition to our commercial team, bringing not only knowledge of the industry but also of the US market.
“This is an important region for us, and we are thrilled to be able to leverage his understanding of the market and the infrastructure that operators and suppliers need to succeed here. This, combined with his experience in the gambling sector, makes him a strong asset as we continue to grow.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Andrew to the global Continent 8 team and look forward to working with him as we strengthen our position as the leading infrastructure provider in the US and beyond.”
Andrew Mudge, Regional Sales Director at Continent 8 Technologies, added: “It’s an honour to be joining Continent 8 at such an exciting time for the business. Having worked closely with the team during my eight years in the industry, I am very aware of the strong presence and dominant brand they have developed globally.
“I’m proud to be joining the leading infrastructure provider for gambling operators and suppliers, worldwide.”
Andrew, along with the global Continent 8 commercial and executive team will be attending ICE London, 6 – 8 February 2024 at ExCeL London, at stand N3-110.
Dave Phillips joins as VP of Network and will oversee operations, build, development, and engineering teams globally for the service provider whose network now spans over 100 data centre locations
Continent 8 Technologies, the award-winning infrastructure provider to the global gambling industry, has named former Google executive, Dave Phillips, as Vice President, Network as it continues to welcome senior talent to its team amid rapid expansion across the globe.
Dave is a highly experienced member of the Internet community having spent 15 years at Google where he held a range of leadership roles in Engineering, Operations, Delivery and Product teams.
As Vice President, Network, Dave will be responsible for overseeing the company’s global network which now spans more than 100 locations across four continents, including 30 states in the US and counting. The scale of the company’s network makes it one of the best connected in the world.
He will lead a global team of networking specialists, located in the UK, Europe, USA, Canada, Singapore, and India, ensuring the company maintains its position as the leading provider of secure, high speed and low-latency connectivity to the iGaming industry and beyond.
Edward O’Connor, Chief Technology Officer at Continent 8 Technologies, said: “Dave is a highly experienced network technologist with an incredible amount of Internet industry experience having been at Google through their hyper-growth phase over the past 15 years.
“Our network is one of the largest and best connected in the business. For over 25 years our industry’s biggest brands have relied on the Continent 8 network and hiring Dave to lead our global team will help to ensure that we continue to innovate on behalf of customers for the next 25 years.
“Dave is joining a fantastic team – with his experience and the immense creativity of our group, I’m certain that we’re going to invent great ways to help our customers in 2024 and beyond.”
Dave Phillips, Vice President, Network at Continent 8 Technologies, added: “Continent 8’s connected network is quite simply the backbone of the iGaming industry and I’m thrilled to be joining the company.
“I’m excited by the extraordinary growth facing Continent 8, further developing our innovative product set and strengthening our position as the infrastructure partner of choice for many of the biggest operators and suppliers in the global gaming industry.”