Hackers claim MGM cyberattack

Shirley Pulis Xerxen September 15, 2023

MGM Resorts International, which operates a number of hotels and casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, including the Bellagio, Aria and Cosmopolitan, experienced a large-scale cyberattack on Sunday, September 10, 2023. The company had to shut down large parts of its internal networks, resulting in widespread disruption across the company’s hotels and casinos. Guests reported that ATMs and slot machines were out of order, along with room digital key cards and electronic payment systems. MGM announced on Thursday that it was attempting to resolve the cybersecurity issue as the outage entered its fourth day. In a statement issued by MGM, the company declared: “Promptly after detecting the issue, we quickly began an investigation with assistance from leading external cybersecurity experts. We also notified law enforcement and took prompt action to protect our systems and data, including shutting down certain systems.”

Ransomware group claims responsibility

The hacking group known as Scattered Spider claimed responsibility for the MGM cyberattack. It is believed to be a subgroup of the ALPHV ransomware gang. The dark web leak site on which ALPHV typically posts files stolen from victim organizations has not yet listed MGM. It’s not yet known what, if any data, was exfiltrated from MGM’s systems. Reports this week claim that Scattered Spider was also behind a recent cyberattack on hotel and casino giant Caesars Entertainment. Caesars acknowledged that hackers acquired the database of its loyalty program, which contained information on a sizable number of users, including their Social Security and driver’s license numbers.

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