Gambling machine giant Aristocrat Leisure has officially disclosed a cyber-attack it suffered on June 1 that resulted in the theft of employee information and other data from the firm’s servers.
According to Aristocrat, hackers exploited a vulnerability in MOVEit, a third-party file-sharing software package it uses, and published extracts of the illegally obtained data online. In response, Aristocrat stated it had taken measures to contain the incident, address the MOVEit weakness, notify law enforcement and regulatory authorities, and extend complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection to its staff.
ongoing threat to the global gaming industry
While the hack prompted Aristocrat to conduct a risk assessment that revealed the incident’s impact on business to be low, the ongoing threat to the global gaming industry is anything but. Earlier this year, a UK expert warned that Russians were hacking US casino companies to bankroll the Ukraine war and were behind other recent global attacks. In April, hackers got into the servers of British Colombia-based Gateway Casinos and Entertainment, causing it to shutter 14 of its Ontario casinos. Last year, hackers hit multiple sports bettors’ accounts on DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM; the former agreeing to refund its customers $300,000.
With subsidiary Aristocrat Gaming’s new NFL gambling machines rolling out across the US this fall, the hack will no doubt have the Australia-based firm on red alert.