MGM Resorts has officially announced an ongoing investigation into a cybersecurity incident that has severely impacted various aspects of its operations, including company emails, reservation records, room access systems, and even casino slot machines. Law enforcement agencies have been contacted to conduct a thorough investigation into the breach and provide crucial details about the hack.
MGM Resorts, with a vast portfolio of approximately 48,000 rooms primarily situated within hotel resorts and casinos along the famous Las Vegas Strip, encompasses iconic properties such as the Luxor hotel, MGM Grand, Bellagio, and Mandalay Bay. According to the latest press release, the incident was initially detected on a Sunday afternoon( September 10th,2023), prompting the company’s IT team to take immediate action by isolating specific network systems that were causing digital disruptions for guests. This disruption resulted in various issues, with some guests experiencing difficulties making payments while enjoying slot machine games due to the machines being either offline or frozen.
The impact extended beyond the gaming floor, affecting restaurant payment gateways as well. Consequently, MGM’s hotel staff was compelled to accept cash payments exclusively for room services. Interestingly, the situation worsened as nearby ATMs quickly ran out of cash, leaving many guests unable to provide physical currency for essential services. This unfortunate scenario led to the denial of services such as massages, steam baths, waiter services, and other amenities. In some cases, guests were even locked out of their reserved rooms, prompting the hotel staff to enlist specialists to provide physical access to these rooms.
In response to the growing frustration of guests, MGM Resorts has taken a compassionate approach by offering credit to some of its loyal patrons on its regular guest list.
It’s worth noting that guests who had checked into Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Biloxi also reported similar issues, although specific details of the disruptions at these locations remain undisclosed.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of MGM Resorts’ previous cybersecurity challenges. In 2019, the company experienced a cyberattack that impacted around 142 million guests, resulting in the unauthorized access of their email addresses, postal codes, and physical addresses by hackers.
Details regarding the attack variant are yet to be disclosed.
