DraftKings, an online fantasy platform that merged with SBTech in April, said its partner corp has faced a ransomware attack in March this year. This was disclosed in the Form S-1 of SEC regulations on Tuesday, which is a mandatory filing for any company to go public. The attacker group behind this incident is not identified yet!
Ransomware Attack Just Before Merger
SBTech, a global provider of technology for online gambling is set to merge with DraftKings, an online fantasy sports platform. This is along with Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp (DEAC), a blank check company between these two. While this merger deal was finalized in April this year, DraftKings in Form S-1 of SEC filing has mentioned a ransomware attack that hit SBTech on March 27th, right before the merger deal.
This incident, as described by DraftKings, says SBTech has immediately responded by shutting down the data centers and has also mitigated the risk successfully. While this causes a week’s downtime, SBTech has informed all relevant authorities and its customers. Further, it has also compensated all customers and DraftKings in immaterial financial impact. This incident led other sites relying on SBTech to go offline for that period too.
DraftKings also said it has given recommendations and security measures, which are yet to be implemented and the cost of such should be calculated. Though there’s seems no material effect on the merger, Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp has directed the SBTech to set aside $30 million in escrow as an emergency fund. This should be like $10 million in cash and $20 million in stock forms, which will be used to aid any future complications of this ransomware attack.
Via: BleepingComputer
