Cyber attack on Federal Groups Casinos in Tasmania

The Federal Group has confirmed that two of its venues shut down because of a malware attack. Federal Group is a casino operator in Tasmania. The cyberattack began on 3 April 2021. The attack interrupted the pokies machines and hotel bookings systems in Wrest Point. Besides affecting the Country Club casinos.

Pokies have been down for ten days. Until now, the group hasn’t given an exact date for the continuation of services. Also, there is no information about attacks on customer data. For example, data like credit cards or private customer information.

Federal Group executive director Daniel Hanna informed about the attack. She said. “Immediate damage has been controlled. Thanks to the hard work of our team and external experts. Despite the Easter long weekend, our team was working. The Australian Cyber Security Center is now inquiring about the attack. The center works together with law enforcement agencies. Both internal and external experts are investigating the attack.”

The interruption will probably bring considerable financial costs to the group. ABC News reported that the average monthly expense on pokies over the last eight months was AU$6.7m (US$5.1m).

Terry Aulich, a former federal senator and Tasmanian minister, said. ”Tasmanian casinos are not ready to deal with cyber attacks. It is surprising. I think this prospect is present across Tasmania in all fields. Whether in IT or any other area, we have to fix this issue once for all.