Last week, as Jake’s 58 Casino Hotel underwent a sudden closure, the property’s parent company made assurances: The system issues were not the result of a cyberattack.
It appears that statement was not entirely true, according to a report from the New York Post. The New York State Gaming Commission came forward this week to confirm that a cybersecurity attack did in fact impact its central operating system that forced the closure of several NY casinos, including Jake’s 58. The attack also affected HealthAlliance Hospital and Margaretville Hospital as well as the Mountainside nursing home.
Brad Maione, spokesman for the NYSGC, stated that Everi, the licensed operator of the state’s video lottery gaming system, “experienced a cybersecurity event that remains under investigation.” He added:
“The Commission has no indication that personal identifiable information was compromised. The Commission continues to monitor the situation.”
Jake’s 58 has not responded to inquiries from PlayNY.
Another cyberattack hits NY casinos
Last week, it came to light that several non-class III commercial casinos that use the statewide video lottery system suddenly closed. At the time, Maione indicated that Everi “experienced a service interruption that impacted some gaming operations across the state.”
Around the same time, Phil Boyle, president and CEO of Jake’s 58 parent company Suffolk OTB, declared that the system issues were not the result of a cyberattack.
“We always take it very seriously and are concerned with potential hacks, we saw what happened recently with MGM (Resorts International) in Las Vegas and Caesars (Entertainment). We don’t want to see that. We have a tremendous IT team and cyber security team focused on this.”
Affected casinos were reopened before the week ended.
This all came just weeks after MGM Resorts International was the target of a cyberattack that affected its properties, including Empire City Casino in Yonkers.
The attack did not impact NY sports betting apps, specifically BetMGM Sportsbook NY.
Hospitals also reeling from latest cyber threat
While the extent of this latest cyberattack remains to be seen, we do know that it affected more than just NY casinos. As the New York Post reported, two hospitals and Mountainside Residential Care Center were forced to shut down all IT systems to address the cyber threat.
