A ransomware attack forced the shutdown of all five **Kewadin Casinos** (Manistique, Christmas, Hessel, Sault Ste. Marie, and St. Ignace) in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, halting all gaming operations indefinitely. While hotels remain open to existing guests, no new check-ins are permitted. The attack also disrupted **tribal administration**, including **health and business operations**, compounding operational and financial losses. The tribe engaged third-party cybersecurity experts to restore systems, with Chairman Austin Lowes estimating a potential **week-long outage** but preparing for a prolonged disruption. The incident underscores severe operational paralysis, reputational damage, and financial strain due to lost revenue from gaming—a primary economic driver for the tribe. The broader impact extends beyond casinos, crippling critical tribal services and exposing vulnerabilities in their cybersecurity infrastructure. Recovery timelines remain uncertain, amplifying economic and administrative fallout.
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/sault-ste-marie-tribe
"id": "sau457090325",
"linkid": "sault-ste-marie-tribe",
"type": "Ransomware",
"date": "2/2025",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "6",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the economy of geographical region"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': ['gaming (casinos)',
'hospitality (hotels)',
'health services',
'tribal administration'],
'location': 'Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, USA (Upper '
'Peninsula)',
'name': 'Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians',
'type': 'tribal government'},
{'industry': 'gaming and hospitality',
'location': ['Manistique, MI',
'Christmas, MI',
'Hessel, MI',
'Sault Ste. Marie, MI',
'St. Ignace, MI'],
'name': 'Kewadin Casinos',
'type': 'subsidiary (casino operator)'}],
'customer_advisories': ['Casinos closed until further notice',
'Hotels open to current guests only (no new '
'check-ins)'],
'date_detected': '2023-11-19T00:00:00Z',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2023-11-19T00:00:00Z',
'description': 'Gaming at five casinos in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (Kewadin '
'Casinos in Manistique, Christmas, Hessel, Sault Ste. Marie, '
'and St. Ignace) was shut down following a ransomware attack '
'on Sunday. The attack also impacted tribal administration, '
'including health and business operations. The Sault Ste. '
'Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which owns and operates the '
'casinos, announced the closure until further notice. Hotels '
'remain open to current guests, but new check-ins are '
'suspended. The tribe has hired third-party experts to restore '
'gaming operations and investigate the incident.',
'impact': {'downtime': {'end': None,
'estimated_duration': 'at least one week (potentially '
'longer)',
'start': '2023-11-19T00:00:00Z'},
'operational_impact': ['complete shutdown of gaming at five '
'casinos',
'suspension of new hotel guest check-ins',
'disruption of tribal administration '
'(health, business operations)'],
'systems_affected': ['gaming operations (casinos)',
'tribal administration',
'health operations',
'business operations']},
'investigation_status': 'ongoing (third-party experts involved)',
'ransomware': {'data_encryption': True},
'references': [{'date_accessed': '2023-11-19',
'source': 'Local news report (SAULT STE. MARIE, MI)'},
{'date_accessed': '2023-11-19',
'source': 'Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians '
'(Facebook announcement)'}],
'response': {'communication_strategy': ['public announcement via Facebook',
'statement by Sault Tribe Chairman '
'Austin Lowes'],
'incident_response_plan_activated': True,
'remediation_measures': ['hiring third-party experts to restore '
'gaming operations',
'investigation into the incident'],
'third_party_assistance': True},
'stakeholder_advisories': ['Public statement by Sault Tribe Chairman Austin '
'Lowes'],
'title': 'Ransomware Attack Shuts Down Five Kewadin Casinos in Michigan’s '
'Upper Peninsula',
'type': 'ransomware'}