Ohio Lottery impacted by cyberattack, disconnects systems
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The Ohio Lottery reported a cyberattack on Christmas Eve, forcing the disconnection of key systems and impacting its ability to pay out certain prizes. The cyberattack affected several internal applications and is currently under investigation.
Despite the disruption, the lottery's gaming system remains fully operational. Mobile cashing and prize cashing above $599 at Super Retailers are unavailable, and certain game results are not accessible on the website or mobile app. Prizes up to $599 can still be cashed at Ohio Lottery Retailer locations, but larger claims need to be mailed or submitted digitally.
The cyberattack has been claimed by the DragonForce ransomware gang, a relatively new but seemingly experienced group in cyber extortion. They assert that they encrypted devices and stole data during the attack, including sensitive information like Social Security Numbers and birth dates of Ohio Lottery customers and employees. The gang claims to have over 3 million entries of data weighing about 600+ gigabytes.
Update - as of 9th of May 2024, the Ohio Lottery reported that approximately 538,000 individuals are impacted by the breach, and confirms that full names and social security numbers have been compromised.
The organization says it has no evidence that the stolen information has been or will be misused, but it has decided to offer free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to impacted individuals.
The Ohio Lottery has taken precautionary steps to protect its environment and is working to ascertain the full scope and impact of the incident.
