Casinos and hotels located in Las Vegas are now acting as soft targets to cybercriminals. And this was revealed in a research conducted by I-Team which was commissioned by Accenture.
As the I-Team reached out to businesses in Las Vegas, it was astonished to find that Hotels like Las Vegas Sands and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino were the most hit in the cyber attack. It is said that the two entertainment firms have lost more than $1 billion due to cyber attacks on its gaming websites and operational networks.
After a preliminary inquiry was launched by FBI cyber squad in Las Vegas, it was discovered that a group of Iranian hackers were behind the cyberattack happened on the international gaming giant Las Vegas Sands. They not only succeeded in penetrating into the network of the gaming giant but also gained access to the earnings and other personal details of the hotel customers.
According to Bloomberg, The Venetian and Palazzo websites were taken down and personal information of staff and some high profiled customers was leaked. The damage was estimated to be at $40 million.
But the owners of casinos and other entertainment zones are not willing to go public after the attack, as it can affect their firm’s reputation in the market and result in their customers losing trust.
Some are lone wolf kind of individuals who just want to propagate their presence by launching attacks. And some are groups which earn their living by hacking database files and locking them with ransomware.
Although the intensity of attacks is high, the Nevada Gaming Board is in a relaxed state and says that no cyber attack at a casino property has affected gaming operations and resulted in monetary loss till date.
