Two Las Vegas Casinos May Have Been Crippled by Ransomware Attacks

An apparent ransomware attack hit the Four Queens Hotel and Casino and Binion”s Casino in Los Angeles, crippling their ability to trade in anything other than cash and affecting some of the slot machines.

A strange sight greeted customers of the Four Queens Hotel and Casino and Binion”s Casino: rows upon rows of deserted slot machines, which remained inactive for almost a week. A CBR report hints at a ransomware attack, although the two casinos, both owned by TLC Casino Enterprises, have yet to issue any statements.

 “Computer systems are down. Cash only,” were among the messages to customers, along with “Out of order,” and “Out of service.” An entire floor of inactive slot machines is clearly not an ideal scenario for any casino.

The only statement came from The Nevada State Game Control Board. “The board is aware of the incident, and we are actively monitoring the situation. As this is an ongoing investigation, we have no further comment.”

This is not the only incident to affect the casino industry in Nevada. Just last month, MGM Resorts International admitted to being hacked in 2019, leading to the leak of data of more than 10.6 million guests.

While hackers often go after easy targets, such as healthcare providers, that are slower to upgrade their software and hardware, any company can fall victim. It”s unclear what exactly happened to the two casinos, but hackers can also exfiltrate data during ransomware attacks, and the level of damage depends very much on the level of preparedness of the infrastructure.