Cyberattack shuts down Upper Peninsula's Kewadin Casinos, tribal operations
A cyberattack on Kewadin Casinos in the Upper Peninsula is wreaking havoc on the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indian's gaming operations, shutting them down and prompting an investigation into who is behind it.
The attack also interrupted tribal phone systems, health centers, and businesses.
"Please know our experts are working around-the-clock to restore gaming operations," the tribe said on social media, noting "a data security incident" Sunday that by Monday it was forced to halt gaming until it could be fixed. "We apologize for this inconvenience."
The incident — which tribe chairman, Austin Lowes, described as a ransomware attack — led the tribe to also "temporarily close many departments and businesses," including its casinos in Sault Ste. Marie, Manistique, Christmas, Hessel and St. Ignace.
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The Free Press attempted to contact the tribe by telephone.
Lowes added that the tribe hopes to resolve the issue "within a week," but is "prepared for it to last longer." Details about how the attack unfolded were not offered, and often, in cases like this, they aren't.
The tribe promised to offer updates on Facebook.
Ransomware, according to the FBI, is a type of malicious software — or what is known as malware — that prevents businesses and governments from accessing files, systems, and networks and demands a ransom to unlock them.
Cyberattacks cause costly disruptions to operations, critical information, and data loss.
Hackers from various countries, including Russia, have attacked American businesses.
The Government Accounting Office has pointed out that ransomware attacks — which the federal government has identified as a top security concern — threaten the "nation's critical services, such as health care, water, electric, and our financial institutions."
In some cases, organizations have insurance that will cover ransom demands.
Last year, Change Healthcare, the largest healthcare payment processor in the United States, was the victim of a ransomware attack that disrupted services nationwide.
Michigan Medicine also was hit twice by cyberattacks.
And in late 2023, the University of Michigan faced an assault on its online systems.
It was unclear how Kewadin Casinos planned to stem the attack or whether it would meet the ransom demands, but it said it had "enlisted the help of third-party experts" and was attempting "to restore our gaming operations as quickly as possible."
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kewadin Casinos in Upper Peninsula shutdown by ransomware attack
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