If you visit Las Vegas, you might want to avoid at least one location: MGM Resorts. It got hit by a cyber-attack, creating chaos that’s been felt from the casino floor to the hotel rooms. Booking and checking in are now arduous tasks. Hotel key cards at the resort are also reportedly twitchy due to the hack. For eight days, MGM Resorts has been in a state of paralysis that’s costing them over $8 million daily, thanks to the hackers shutting down all the slot machines.
They’re not the only ones: Caesars was also targeted, but they allegedly paid the ransom between $15-30 million. MGM told these thugs to pound sand. Reports on the ground are that virtually every electronic device in the entire complex, including kiosks used for food and beverage orders, are virtually unworkable (via NY Post):
MGM Resorts has officially entered its eighth day of “cybersecurity issues” that have silenced slot machines and shut down internal computer systems, costing the hotel and casino chain as much as $8.4 million per day in daily revenue.
David Katz, a gaming industry analyst with Jefferies Group, issued a note estimating that MGM could take a hit of between 10% and 20% on revenue and cash flow.
The company generates some $42 million in revenue and $8 million in cash flow daily, according to Katz.
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MGM guests posted videos to social media showing broken slot machines, downed elevators, long lines at the check-in counter, and cash-only payments for certain casino operations.
Caesars reportedly agreed to pay $15 million in ransom to the suspected hackers, enabling the company’s systems to go back online.
MGM is refusing to pay — thus limiting its ability to do business at full strength across its 14 hotels and casinos in Vegas, including the Bellagio, Aria, MGM Grand, NoMad, and Mandalay Bay.
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A reporter for the tech news site 404 who went to the MGM Grand said that food ordering kiosk touchscreens, which are the only way for customers to order food and drink, have yet to come back online as of Monday.
The reporter also observed that the giant video billboard for the Aria had “tons of flashing pixels, dead areas, and general software gore.”
The 404 writer also “encountered many broken escalators” as well as kitchen management computer screen that weren’t working.
Workers at the food court were relegated to taking down orders by pen and paper.
“It’s like we’re back in the caveman days,” an employee told 404.
Paychecks to employees are now delayed. Strip clubs are now offering free lap dances to those impacted by the MGM hack. As for Caesars, it’s not confirmed that they paid the ransom, though if they did, experts warn more hacks like this are coming (via Associated Press):
As the security break-ins left some Las Vegas casino floors deserted this week, a hacker group emerged online, claiming responsibility for the attack on Caesars Entertainment’s systems and saying it had asked the company to pay a $30 million ransom fee.
It has not officially been determined whether either of the affected companies paid a ransom to regain control of their data. But if one had done so, the experts said, then more attacks could be on the way.
“If it happened to MGM, the same thing could happen to other properties, too,” said Kim, the UNLV professor. “Definitely more attacks will come. That’s why they have to prepare.”
The Associated Press article noted how these cyber-attacks shattered Vegas’ reputation as impenetrable to such hacks. According to Bloomberg, this hacking group was able to gain access to the system and create chaos by deceiving the IT service desk.
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