One of the leading American casinos and resort operators MGM Resorts International was the victim of a serious cyber-security attack or breach which took place last summer. At the time, not much information was revealed about this security breach, while new information just recently emerged. According to one report by NBCNews.com, the cyber security breach from last summer resulted in the personal information of around ten million MGM Resorts International customers being exposed.
The same news outlet also revealed that the hacked personal dataset from the targeted operator included the names, birth dates, addresses, telephone numbers as well as e-mail information of individuals who had visited and stayed at MGM Resorts International-owned and operated facilities. It was also revealed that the cyber-security breach at the Las Vegas-based company did not include financial information of the venues’ customers such as their credit card data.
MGM Operating Over Thirty Casino Resorts
As mentioned at the beginning, MGM Resorts International is one of the leaders in the hospitality and entertainment industry in the US and around the globe. The company was established by Kirk Kerkorian more than three decades ago. It is based in the state of Nevada. Today, MGM Resorts International is responsible for many luxurious casinos and destination resorts in Mississippi, Maryland, Nevada, and New Jersey. Some of its most iconic properties include the Bellagio Mandalay Bay venue, Park MGM and MGM Grand.
MGM took over the Empire City Casino in Yonkers, New York in January of 2019. More recently, it opened its MGM National Harbor in Maryland alongside MGM Springfield in the state of Massachusetts. It is also worth mentioning that MGM Resorts International has a major interest in the MGM China Holdings Limited company that owns the iconic MGM Macau resort and casino. The company also owns a fifty percent stake in CityCenter that features Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
The company which is also responsible for the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa venue, as well as MGM Grand Detroit, explained that its security team had detected the cyber-attack for the first time back in July last year. The company’s officials stated that its team working for the security department immediately attempted to notify all affected customers that their personal information may have been exposed. After that, the company’s team contracted two cyber-security companies to help them conduct internal investigations regarding the issue and in order to help the company remediate the problem.
No Financial Data Lost in the Cyber Security Breach
The casino operator also proclaimed that its team alongside two cyber security companies has determined that the security breach had involved rather limited information for specific previous visitors. It was also determined that the personal data exposed was obtained as hackers accessed the company’s could server without authorization.
While the company’s officials never revealed whether the stolen data was ever used, several news outlets said that some details were in fact posted on a hacking forum. In its official press release, the company’s officials said that they are one hundred percent confident that no personal financial data including credit card data and associated passwords were involved in the security breach. According to NBCNews.com, the boss of Twitter Jack Dorsey and musician Justin Bieber may have had been affected while other victims had included individuals related to the USA Federal Bureau of Investigation, Transportation Security Administration, Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security.
