Lost amid the clamor regarding the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and the Fourth of July, several of the online gaming sites in New Jersey were subjected to a DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack.

According to Ted Sherman of NJ.com, four sites were targeted on Thursday. The sites, according to New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Director David Rebuck, were “impacted and experienced downtime” from the attack, which basically sends a flood of information to a network setting that forces the system to either slow down tremendously or shut down outright. The issues continued until at least Sunday evening and lasted for up to 30 minutes each time.

The problem with DDoS attacks is that they are highly difficult to trace because there are usually several people and/or computers involved in flooding the particular computer network with information. In this case, however, Rebuck has indicated that it was a singular hacker who initiated the attack. That individual issued a ransom demand to be paid in the crypto-currency Bitcoin and, if the ransom went unpaid, there would be more severe attacks on the casinos and their networks.

That seems to be the concern of the DGE at this point. The threatened follow-up attacks could have a significant impact not only the casinos in Atlantic City, but also the businesses that share the same internet service provider used by the casinos. As of press time, there has been no indication that there has been further attacks against the online gaming sites and, with the ransom unpaid, no further problems or escalation of attacks have occurred.

The DGE firmly states that at no point was any player information compromised nor were the virtual accounts that house players’ monies. The attack simply appears to be of the common DDoS variety, causing commotion and problems rather than any sinister motive.

A DDoS attack such as this isn’t unfamiliar to the gaming community. Last year, the network servicing the Las Vegas Sands Corporation casinos, including the Venetian and the Palazzo, were the targets of a DDoS attack. In this instance, the DDoS attack was more sophisticated in that it automatically shut down PCs and servers. After further investigation, it was determined that the sophisticated hack had originated from Iran in response to LVSC chairman Sheldon Adelson‘s political stance regarding diplomacy with the country.

The situation in New Jersey has had several people worried about how this will affect customers’ beliefs that online gaming – especially in the rigorously regulated US state-by-state system – is secure. Online Poker Report’s Chris Grove noted that “the media is really overplaying the ‘cyber-attack’ on New Jersey online casinos… DDoS attacks are a part of the normal course of business, especially when it comes to online gambling. By describing the attacks in broad and breathless terms, the media incorrectly implies a ‘hacking’ that put customers at risk. DDoS is not that.”

According to the DGE and PokerScout’s information, all New Jersey’s online gaming sites have now returned to normal. There have not been any further attacks, but there also hasn’t been any further information as to the parties responsible for triggering the previous DDoS attacks either. DGE officials have stated that the investigation is ongoing into the breach and further information will be forthcoming.

Visit PocketFives’ New Jersey poker community for the latest news and discussion from New Jersey players.

Want the latest poker headlines and interviews? Follow PocketFives on Twitterand Like PocketFives on Facebook.