Ransomware in Gaming: How Casinos Can Defend Against Modern Cyber Threats

Hackers aren’t gambling. They know exactly where to hit. And for gaming companies, the stakes couldn’t be higher. 

Casinos and gaming operators are being targeted by ransomware groups that move fast, exploit blind spots, and disrupt operations that can’t afford a minute of downtime. 

During a recent webinar, Tim Bandos, Vice President of Sales Engineering and Field CISO at Critical Start, and Jason Norred, CISO at Solutions II, unpacked how ransomware groups are breaching gaming networks, and what security teams can do to stop them, contain the damage, and recover with confidence. 

Why Gaming and Casinos Are Prime Targets

“There’s no industry that is left out when it comes to ransomware,” said Bandos. “The casino business, the gaming industry, they’re no different.”

Attackers aren’t always targeting gaming for its brand name. They’re after sensitive data, under-protected systems, and organizations that can’t afford prolonged downtime.

Bandos pointed to the $300 million impact of the MGM Resorts breach as one example, noting that smaller casinos and gaming properties are being hit too, with just as much disruption.

The attack path is often simple: 

• Phishing emails with credential harvesting links 

• Unpatched vulnerabilities on internet-facing services 

• Remote desktop access without MFA 

• Direct purchase of access on the dark web

“Once everything’s been exploited and they acquire complete access to your entire VM environment, it’s game over,” said Bandos.

Ransomware Groups Are Moving Quickly and Quietly

Bandos outlined the typical sequence: attackers gain access, perform reconnaissance, disable defenses, and then trigger encryption. In many cases, they also exfiltrate data to use for double or triple extortion. 

“It almost seems like any group can become a ransomware operator,” he said. “You don’t need to be a coder anymore. You don’t even need to infiltrate organizations yourself. You can already buy all of this access.”

Some attackers leverage unexpected entry points. Bandos referenced a breach that started through a connected fish tank. “You also have to think about Internet-connected devices. Should I connect my fish tank to the Internet?” 

For gaming and hospitality companies with large IoT footprints or OT environments, these risks grow exponentially. “A lot of times these IoT devices are not built with security in mind,” he said.

Visibility and Prioritization Are Everything

To detect ransomware early, visibility into the right data sources is key.

“At Critical Start, we focus on those different data sources as we’re analyzing and monitoring an environment,” said Bandos. “We’re consuming firewall traffic, MFA traffic, EPP, identity, cloud security. But they’re not all created equal. The value of these logs is different.”

The Critical Start approach groups logs by value and prioritizes response around those that offer the strongest signal. “We look at low, medium, high, and critical, and we triage every single alert,” he said. “You can’t leave anything out.”

Why a Ransomware Response Plan Fails Without the Right Prep 

Jason Norred and his Solutions II team have helped dozens of organizations navigate ransomware recovery. He explained why many well-funded security programs still fall short. 

“Most enterprises are woefully underprepared when faced with a large-scale incident,” Norred said. “They’re usually only a couple of steps into their IR plan when they realize they’ve got a gap.”

The five areas he emphasized include: 

1. Have an IR Retainer Documented and Accessible   

“The absolute worst time to try to find someone to partner with is during a crisis.” Organizations waste critical time drafting contracts and getting approvals. In many cases, the threat actors are still moving through the environment while that’s happening. Keep the retainer info offline and up to date. 

2. Contain Before You Recover   

“Once you discover that a threat actor is in your environment, you really just have to assume that they’re everywhere.” Before you restore anything, isolate the threat. Define who has authority to disconnect systems and ensure they can act fast without waiting for signoff. 

3. Know What Your IR Provider Actually Does   

“Your IR partner may contain the threat, but recovery is a separate effort.” Too often, organizations assume their IR firm will get business systems back online. In reality, recovery usually falls to IT or another provider. Know that distinction in advance. 

4. Harden and Test Your Backups   

Attackers know backups are the only way to recover without paying. Norred explained that many backup tools are technically immutable, but access to those tools is often not protected. “Threat actors are smart,” he said. “They’re looking to prevent the recovery of your systems.” 

5. Define What Needs to Be Restored First   

“You really need to define what your top five things are that need to be recovered.” Without clear restore priorities, systems come back in the wrong order or not at all. Tier 0 services like identity, storage, and networking must come online first. And your team needs to know how long that takes. 

What Makes MDR Work in a Gaming Environment 

Gaming organizations often generate massive volumes of data, from anti-cheat telemetry to user behavior logs. For managed detection and response (MDR) to work, providers must ingest and interpret that data quickly. 

Bandos shared how Critical Start approaches this: “We’ll take that information in, analyze it, and understand where those anomalies and trends are so that we can effectively respond.”

Norred reinforced the value of the Critical Start approach for customers. “That’s one of the key differentiators. That custom rules of engagement (ROEs) and defining all of that, not only during the initial onboarding, but as business operations change.” 

Whether it’s understanding uptime sensitivity or custom data pipelines, a one-size-fits-all MDR model doesn’t work in gaming. 

Final Takeaways: Prepare Early, Act Fast, Recover Smarter 

The ransomware threat isn’t slowing down. But the difference between prolonged outage and fast containment comes down to planning, clarity, and the right partners. “The threat is real,” said Norred. “It’s not a question of if, but when.” 

For casino operators, game developers, and hospitality organizations with high-value systems, now is the time to: 

• Map out asset visibility and OT exposures. 

• Harden backup access and test recovery time. 

• Define clear rules of engagement with your MDR provider. 

• Prepare your team to act without hesitation.

As Bandos summed it up: “Incident response is absolutely imperative. Make sure you’ve done those tabletop exercises. Make sure you’ve tested your backup process. And make sure you’re prepared.” 

Want to watch the full Building a Resilient Gaming Ecosystem with MDR presentation? Check it out here.