Gaming technology firm IGT reports hacking incident

Nov 21, 2024 Newsdesk Latest News, Top of the deck, World  

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An “unauthorised third party gained access” to some of gaming equipment maker International Game Technology (IGT) Plc’s systems, the firm said in a Tuesday filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

“The company has not yet determined whether this incident is material” to its business, it added.

The group runs three main segments: global lottery; global gaming; and PlayDigital, its online content arm.

As a result of the “cybersecurity incident”, of which the company became aware on Sunday (November 17), IGT “has experienced disruptions in portions of its internal information technology systems and applications,” stated the update.

The news comes as IGT is poised to sell its gaming and digital business to funds managed by affiliates of private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc, for US$4.05 billion.

IGT noted in its Tuesday filing about the hacking incident: “Promptly after detecting the issue, the company activated its cybersecurity incident response plan and launched an investigation with the support of its external advisors to assess and remediate the unauthorised activity.”

The firm said it had “proactively taken certain systems offline to help protect them.”

IGT stated its “ongoing investigation and response includes efforts to bring its systems back online”.

The filing added the group was “communicating with its customers and other stakeholders, as appropriate, and, where possible, the company has implemented alternatives for certain operations in accordance with its business continuity plans to mitigate disruptions and continue servicing its customers”.

Last week IGT reported aggregate revenue of US$587 million for the third quarter of 2024, down 2.3 percent from a year earlier.

The third quarter marked the first reporting period where the results of IGT’s gaming and digital business were “classified as discontinued operations,” stated the company.

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