The cyberattack is believed to have taken place on March 27, The Minnesota Star Tribune reports. Customers at Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel reported issues such as phones not working and bingo night cancellations.
Certain systems were taken offline soon after, with some remaining offline ever since. An update posted on the community’s Facebook page on March 31 said that the casino was still experiencing some issues.
Subsequent updates on April 1 and April 2 confirmed this remains the case. At present, Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel is not able to offer slot machine gaming, while special bingo sessions have also been postponed.
In addition, the Dacotah Dining facility at the casino will remain closed until further notice. However, as per the latest daily update on the casino’s website, table games and the Circle Bar are open.
Work Continues to Restart Casino Activities
Robert “Deuce” Larsen, president of the community’s council, has also addressed the issue. In a Facebook post on April 1, he confirmed the issues have been caused by a cyberattack and said work is ongoing to rectify the problems.
“Jackpot Junction recently identified a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to certain systems,” he said. “We immediately activated our incident response protocols and took measures to contain the incident, including taking some systems offline.
“We are working with third-party experts to address the incident, with the goal of returning to normal operations as quickly and as safely as possible. At this time, our systems remain offline.
“We appreciate your patience and support. We apologize for it taking this long, but we will keep you updated as best we can.”
A criminal group named RansomHub has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.
