A ransomware group named "Anubis" asserts that it has acquired detailed plans for the Two Kings Casino located in Kings Mountain, NC. The documents will be published by the group if the tribe does not pay a ransom. 

Apart from the extortion threat, the tribe stated there is no evidence of any interruption to casino services or that private customer information has been breached. 

The tribe is presently running a temporary gaming facility as it develops a $700 million resort expected to launch in 2026. The hackers are targeting this new facility. 

Dark Web Dangers 

Anubis declared on the Dark Web Wednesday, alerting the tribe they had 19 hours to settle the payment. The deadline has now elapsed, and the present situation is uncertain. 

Trent Troxel, vice president of the Catawba Nation Gaming Authority, stated that the blueprints in question were old drafts illustrating earlier design and construction plans.

"Although our investigation is ongoing, there is no indication that our network, operations, or customer data have been impacted or that this information was obtained via the Catawba Two Kings Casino network,” said Troxel. “We take the security of customer data very seriously and will continue to diligently investigate.”

As of Thursday, the tribe mentioned it is unaware of any documents being leaked by the hackers, Troxel stated. 

Possibly Harmful 

The hackers assert they possess detailed architectural blueprints that feature designs of the principal gaming area, hotel tower, parking spaces, and secured regions such as vaults, server rooms, camera locations, and employee zones. 

This might give offenders the insights required to strategize and carry out physical break-ins or thefts, while specific awareness of security camera placements could allow illegal actions to remain unnoticed. 

Authentic leaked blueprints could be extremely harmful to a project like this, possibly undermining the confidence of stakeholders and investors while attracting regulatory attention, a situation the Catawba has already faced extensively. 

Who is Anubis? 

Anubis seems to be a fairly recent ransomware group, emerging in or about the fourth quarter of 2024. The group has earlier focused on healthcare firms in Australia and Canada, as well as construction firms in Peru and the United States. 

Two Kings is the newest among a series of tribal casinos targeted by ransomware groups. In the past few months, the same group, Ransomhub, has targeted two casino operators. 

Cyberattacks targeting the Jackpot Junction Casino of the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Minnesota and the Sault Ste. Kewadin Casinos of the Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan have significantly disrupted operations. 

In a strange turn of events, Ransomhub penned a letter to The Sault Tribe Guardian, the local newspaper of the Sault Tribe, criticizing the tribe's leaders for their unwillingness to cooperate.