MGM hotels, casinos ‘operating normally’ after cyber attack

MGM Resorts said all its hotels and casinos were “operating normally” after it shut down some of its computer systems over cyber security issues earlier this month.

The company, which operates over 30 hotel and gaming venues around the world including in Macau and Las Vegas, was targeted by a hacking group named Scattered Spider, Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

“Mobile Check-In and Digital Keys are currently unavailable,” MGM said on its website.

Several security analysts have drawn attention to Scattered Spider over the past year for its social engineering tactics.

It is known to target an organisation’s information security system by reaching out to the company by phone, pretending to be an employee needing their password reset.

Last week, the hacking group said it took six terabytes of data from the systems of multi-billion-dollar casino operators MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment, as both companies probed the breaches.

“Indications from MGM confirming the cyber attacks should be taken as one-time, largely insurable events that should not have long-lasting impacts on the businesses,” brokerage Jefferies said in a note last week.

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AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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