Mafia targets net betting firms

CRIME syndicates have cost betting companies millions of pounds in a series of internet sabotage attacks, it was revealed today.

One of the largest online bookmakers was paralysed by hackers as the Cheltenham Festival reached its climax. Dozens of attacks crashed other online betting sites during key races at the festival. It left gamblers unable to place bets and is believed to have cost millions in lost revenue.

The hackers, believed to be part of the Russian underworld, are trying to blackmail targeted sites by demanding up to £10,000 to stop the online sabotage. Experts fear other major sporting events such as the Chelsea versus Arsenal Champions League match will be targeted.

Today MPs called for an urgent crackdown on e-crime. One security expert added: 'This is simply old-fashioned extortion with a modern twist.'

Attacks have managed to crash a leading betting site twice in the last 48 hours.

They work by simultaneously accessing the websites millions of times. This overloads servers and causes them to crash. The company at the centre of the attacks, UKBetting, admitted its service had been disrupted on Wednesday and yesterday, with the site unavailable for several hours on both days.

William Hill also admitted it had been the victim of an attack in the last week. David Hood, a spokesman for the company, said: 'On Thursday there was a 24-hour attack on our site, but it didn't bring us down and we were able to put measures in place, for instance limiting access from some areas of the world.'

He added: 'We were able to operate at around 50% capacity. We didn't receive the extortion demand until after the attack, but we absolutely would not give in, and we've had no more attacks.'

Experts believe many large crime syndicates are now recruiting hackers to help them carry out electronic attacks. Graham Cluley, of computer security firm Sophos, said: 'This is just like a normal extortion racket, only this time the stakes are higher due to the vast amounts of money these sites can take.'

He added: 'If a normal site goes down for 20 minutes, it doesn't always matter that much - but if a betting site goes down for 20 minutes before a big race it can be catastrophic.' The recent flood of computer viruses could also be linked to these groups, claimed Mr Cluley.

The spate of sabotage has led to a group of MPs calling for hacking laws to be changed.

The parliamentary internet group is preparing a report to outline the changes that need to be made to the Computer Misuse Act, which dates from 1990, before internet use was widespread.