Darktrace Case Study: William Hill plc, Leading Gaming Company

CASE STUDY
William Hill PLC
Overview
Industry
• Gambling
Challenge
• Growing number of targeted cyberattacks
• Protecting market-sensitive
information
• Identify suspicious insider and
fraudulent activity
• Secure global network and maintain
business flexibility
Benefits
• Complete network visibility in real
time
• Ability to detect previously unknown
threats
• Identify anomalous behaviors early
• Prevent emerging threats from
escalating into a crisis
• Maintain long-term brand
reputation
Business Background
William Hill PLC is one of the world’s leading gambling companies, providing
betting and gaming services across multiple channels and countries,
offering its customers an exciting and enjoyable experience. The company
operates worldwide, employing over 16,000 people with main offices in
the UK, Republic of Ireland and Gibraltar, offering betting by phone and
Internet together with their 2,300 Licensed Betting Offices. Founded in
1934, William Hill is the largest UK-based bookmaker, representing around
a quarter of the market throughout the UK and Ireland. William Hill is listed
on the London Stock Exchange and its betting shops process more than
one million betting slips on an average day.
Challenge
The online gambling industry faces an increasing risk posed by cyberattackers, dominated by distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and
unauthorized access, to name a few key threats. In addition, failure to
comply with regulations regarding the use of personal customer data could
risk litigation and reputational damage. As the use of online and mobile
services continues to increase in importance for the company, attacks and
the impacts of data breaches will only grow in frequency and seriousness.
William Hill proactively addresses the threats posed by cyber crime and
undertakes regular external security scans. It has also implemented industryleading measures to mitigate the effects of attacks against its systems. The
company has made significant investments in its security infrastructure and
is actively embracing new technologies to continue delivering its services
without any business interruptions. William Hill acknowledged that in order
to remain the leader in this competitive industry, it needed to utilize the
latest technological advancements in cyber security to ensure it was able to
identify and detect emerging threats.
Solution
William Hill selected Darktrace’s self-learning Enterprise Immune System solution to gain complete visibility of all ongoing network
activity and have the ability to identify early indicators of potential cyber risks and in-progress attacks. Based on machine learning
and probabilistic mathematics developed at the University of Cambridge, Darktrace’s technology independently learns a pattern
of normal behavior for each user and device within the organization. This intricate knowledge of what normally happens within
the company enables Darktrace’s technology to flag any unusual behaviors that could be indicative of a potential security threat.
Using powerful Bayesian mathematics, the Enterprise Immune System classifies anomalies based on their statistical likelihood
of being genuine threats, helping to focus the security team’s efforts on the most serious issues. The wealth of intelligence
uncovered by Darktrace’s technology is accessed through the Threat Visualizer interface, an intuitive visualization tool that is
easily understood by both the security specialists and board-level executives. The Threat Visualizer presents a small selection of
the most interesting finds, at the same time offering a dynamic 3D overview of the entire network in real time.
Benefits
With Darktrace’s unique ability to detect abnormal behavior as soon as it occurs, William Hill now has the intelligence to address
potentially threatening situations before they can escalate and cause lasting damage to its reputation and business. Having full
visibility of all digital interactions enables it to identify early signs of suspicious activity, regardless of whether they originate from
within, or the outside, or if the threat has never been seen before.
Equipped with the most advanced immune-system cyber defense, William Hill has secured its leading position in the gambling
industry and can continue its online operations, safe in the knowledge that it has the ability to quickly locate and address any
threats that could compromise its business. Ultimately, Darktrace’s Enterprise Immune System has enabled William Hill to take
a proactive stance to security, however threats evolve or its operational requirements grow.
About Darktrace
Contact Us
Named ‘Technology Pioneer’ by the World Economic Forum, Darktrace is one of the world’s leading
cyber threat defense companies. Its Enterprise Immune System technology detects previously
unidentified threats in real time, powered by machine learning and mathematics developed at the
University of Cambridge, which analyze the behavior of every device, user and network within an
organization. Some of the world’s largest corporations rely on Darktrace’s self-learning appliance
in sectors including energy and utilities, financial services, telecommunications, healthcare,
manufacturing, retail and transportation. The company was founded in 2013 by leading machine
learning specialists and government intelligence experts, and is headquartered in Cambridge, UK
and San Francisco, including offices in Auckland, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, London, Los Angeles,
Milan, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto and Washington D.C.
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Email: [email protected]
www.darktrace.com