In mid-April, the operations of the major Canadian gaming and entertainment company, Gateway Casinos, were impacted by a cyberattack. The company announced an emergency shutdown on April 16 which at the time was described as a “system-wide malfunction.” In light of the security breach, Gateway decided to temporarily shut down the operations at all of its 14 different properties.
Reportedly, there were more than a few properties affected by the cyber-attack that include venues at Woodstock, Thunder Bay, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie cities. Additionally, the ransomware attacks are believed to have affected the operations of casinos in Sarnia, North Bay, London, Innisfil and Clinton. Although five other venues were not impacted by the cyberattack, Gateway temporarily halted the operations at those casinos as well.
Carmi Levy, an experienced technology analyst explained that Gateway may face challenges when recovering from the cyberattack. The analyst, who was interviewed by CTVNews recently, explained that the operator will have to first “own” the cyberattack and then begin the hard work related to recovering from its devastating impact. Additionally, Levy said that Gateway would need to reestablish the trust of its stakeholders, as well as customers.
“Gateway Casinos is going to have to own this, and they are going to have to work hard to reestablish the trust of customers and other stakeholders who have done business with them in the past who may be hesitant to do so going forward, for good reason.“
Carmi Levy, Technology Analyst
The Company Started Reopening Venues
According to the technology analyst, to prevent and recognize cyberattacks, companies need to train their employees better. Levy said that usually, such attacks start with a “phishing type of message” showing in one’s inbox. He explained: “Clearly, someone clicked on the wrong thing in this event. Clearly, someone is going to click on the wrong thing in future events.”
Speaking about cyberattacks, Levy said that it may take years for companies to recover from such threats. He said that cyberattacks are “as bad as it gets” and pointed out that the recovery from such threats isn’t as simple as coming back online by flipping a switch.
Last week, Gateway confirmed it continues to work on its IT systems to reopen its properties. “We continue to restore our IT systems and are working to safely reopen our Ontario operations,” the company explained in a statement. On Saturday, Gateway confirmed the reopening of its Innisfil property. At the time, the company unveiled that it plans to implement a phased reopening plan for its businesses. Gateway confirmed that additional properties are expected to reopen soon.