Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel Shutters Following Cyberattack

Over the weekend, Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel in Minnesota was forced to shut down phones, slot machines, cancel bingo, and more following a cyberattack that impacted the Lower Sioux Indian Community. 

The group claiming responsibility is RansomHub, a group that was also responsible for a Kewadin Casinos attack, another native tribe, earlier this year. 

President of Community Council Speaks Out

Robert Larsen, also known as “Deuce” is the president of the community’s council. He also runs Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel. 

“Jackpot Junction recently identified a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to certain systems.  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.

We appreciate your help in keeping this from becoming even more negative than it already is,” he wrote in an announcement on Facebook. 

As he mentioned, they are working with experts to assist them. 

RansomHub Claims Responsibility

According to various online sites that track cyber gangs on the dark web, RansomHub posted on Monday claiming responsibility for the attack. 

It’s unclear exactly where RansomHub is from, but according to Luke Connolly, an analyst with Emisoft, they're believed to be from Russia. 

Emsisoft is a cybersecurity firm. 

RansomHub was founded in Feb. 2024. 

Past Casino Attacks

Casinos have often been targets for attacks. In 2023, MGM Resorts in Las Vegas was hit. A data breach shut down slots and leaked customer data, causing a $100 million hit overall. 

As mentioned, RansomHub claimed responsibility for attacks on the Kewadin Casinos in Michigan. 

At one point, it was believed they wrote a letter to a local newspaper detailing while they did it. 

At the time, Databreachers.net reported that RansomHub was responsible. 

As for Jackpot Junction Casino Hotel, bars, restaurants, and table games remain open. 

It remains to be seen if this attack will follow a similar pattern to the one in Michigan—we’ll see if a letter to a local newspaper arrives.