New York State Gaming Commission Is Latest Casino Hacking Target
First casinos, and now the regulators. It’s been a tough couple of months for cyber security teams in the casino industry. That continued over the weekend at the New York State Gaming Commission.
The state’s casino regulator was hacked, bringing some grief not just to the gaming commission, but also for some New York slot venues. The commission’s slot management system was left inoperable for a time on Oct. 17, affecting some operators.
“Everi, the licensed operator of New York’s video lottery gaming central system, experienced a cybersecurity event that remains under investigation,” commission representative Brad Maione told the New York Post. “The commission has no indication that personal identifiable information was compromised. The Commission continues to monitor the situation.”
Latest Casino Industry Entity Victimized by Cyber Attack
MGM Resorts was recently victimized in a cyber attack that crippled many of the company’s operations around the country, including slot machines. In Canada, Gateway Casinos experienced a similar issue in April, leading to the closure of several casinos north of the border.
Caesars Entertainment also saw a similar ransomware attack as well. That company chose instead to pay a $30 million ransom to regain access to its computer systems, according to the Wall Street Journal. That may have been the best financial decision, given MGM recent disclosure that the hack will cost the company upwards of $100 million before insurance payouts.
New York State Gaming Commission representatives don’t believe any personal data was retrieved by hackers during the Empire State attack. The commission continues to investigate, but the attack has been another wake-up call for some in the industry.
“We shut down for a brief period,” James Featherstonhaugh, a part owner of Saratoga Casino, told the Post. “It got cleared up fairly quickly. It was all the same issue. It got everyone’s attention.”
Prevention Steps
Cyber crimes have cost MGM, Caesars, and Gateway millions of dollars in lost revenue and additional IT work. As the industry faces a growing number of cyber security issues, some experts say additional planning and training could…
