The Nevada Gaming Control Board announced an investigation has confirmed that no personal information was accessed or acquired by any unauthorized persons as a result of a cybersecurity incident in late January.
The state’s gaming industry regulator has refrained from calling the incident a cyberattack and did not indicate if investigators are seeking any criminal suspects. The Control Board’s website appearance has also changed since it became inaccessible in late January.
The board, on January 25th, issued a statement on X, formerly Twitter, noting that it had taken measures to protect the website by taking it offline. Wednesday’s board statement said the board used “established protocols” to prevent further damage.
Public Statement Concerning Nevada Gaming Control Board Website Security Incident. pic.twitter.com/UoPUp1ZRfC
— Nevada Gaming Control Board (@NevadaGCB) February 28, 2024
Following the incident, the board chose to shut down the existing website and transitioned to a new platform under the guidance of the Nevada Office of the Chief Information Officer. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, an investigation was conducted by the Control Board Information Technology team, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, other law enforcement agencies, and external legal and forensic experts.
The board has not responded to inquiries about whether evidence was found that the incident was a cyberattack or if any suspects are being sought. The state has been witness to several cybersecurity breaches in recent times, including those faced by operators MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment.
MGM’s cybersecurity breaches saw nine days of websites being down. However, it did not capitulate to ransom demands. Meanwhile, Caesars was reported to have paid a $15 million ransomware demand and also suffered from an outage of sites. The company has, however, not confirmed paying a ransom.
The Control Board website was gradually restored over a five-day period, and investigators reported that no personal or financial information was compromised.
The Control Board’s public website features board agendas, statistics, casino indices, regulations, and biographical information about Control Board members and gaming commissioners.