Tribe Wants to Protect the Identity of Individuals Affected by a Data Breach

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians has confirmed that it will take care of the potential fallout of a cyberattack that affected patrons and guests of its casinos. During a February attack, the tribe reported that five of its Kewadin Casinos on the Upper Peninsula had to shut down on February 11.

Casino Refuses to Pay Ransomware, Deals with Aftermath

The cyberattack was particularly debilitating, taking the venues out of order for an extended period of time, ranging from two to three weeks, and further resulting in the loss of data from patrons and guests. The tribe has now confirmed that it will open free ID protection for affected individuals.

The Sault Marie Tribe said that the victims had suffered a particularly serious theft of data and personal information, including names and addresses, dates of birth, SSNs, driver’s license or state-issued identification numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, medical information, health insurance policy information, and more.

Protecting Identity, Privacy, and Data of Affected Individuals

The tribe made it known that this had happened, and it refused to pay the ransom money, falling in line with law enforcement, which recommends avoiding paying ransom to discourage hackers from acting.

The tribe’s official statement was shared on the home website and read: “To protect those affected by the Incident, the tribe has engaged the services of IDX, a leading consumer identity protection service, to manage the notification to affected members, patrons, and employees and to enroll affected individuals in the complimentary 12-month identity protection services through IDX.”

States such as Nevada have warned gambling businesses to stay vigilant of such threats and to avoid engaging directly with the criminals behind them.