Various MGM Resorts International properties across the U.S. Monday faced a “cybersecurity issue” that caused the gaming giant to temporarily shutter computer systems across the country.
The issue first began Sunday, the Associated Press reported. The cyberattack is believed to impact properties in Nevada, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York and Ohio. MGM Resorts is the largest casino operator in Las Vegas, where it has some of the best-known resorts on the Las Vegas Strip like MGM Grand, Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, Aria, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, New York-New York, Excalibur and Park MGM.
The company’s reservations system appears to be down, and the website directs customers to various phone numbers to make reservations or contact a concierge.
Social media reports indicate slot machines are out of service, and company emails, reservations and room keys are also impacted by the attack.
The online sports betting platform BetMGM’s Nevada website appeared to be down as of Monday afternoon while the platform’s website in other states like Massachusetts appeared to be functioning as normal.
An MGM Resorts spokesperson did not respond to TPG’s request for comment in time for publication, but the AP noted a company statement saying “MGM Resorts recently identified a cybersecurity issue affecting some of the company’s systems” and that it had notified law enforcement agencies.
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Cyberattacks on the rise in the travel sector
MGM’s cybersecurity woes are the latest in a rise in cyberattacks on various hotel companies in recent years.
IHG Hotels & Resorts faced a cyberattack last September that crippled its own computer systems and left residual problems to its loyalty system in the weeks that followed.
A network of cyberattacks in 2021 involved at least 11 global airlines, including United and American in the U.S., after cybercriminals targeted travel technology provider SITA.
Hilton faced cyberattacks in 2014 and 2015 that put more than 363,000 customer accounts at risk amid credit card data breaches, the BBC reported in 2017.
Perhaps the best-known cyberattack in the hotel sector involved Marriott in 2018, when the data of 500 million guests from Starwood Hotels & Resorts (which Marriott acquired in 2016) was breached in one of the largest data security failures of all time. Marriott faced significantly smaller data breaches in 2020 and 2022.
How to protect yourself
It is still unclear if MGM’s cybersecurity issue involves a data breach, but if that does end up being the case and you think you might be impacted, it is important to monitor banking and credit card information to prevent any form of identity theft, McAfee reports.
Change your online passwords, and look into receiving credit monitoring.
The computer security software provider also notes you should place a fraud alert with one of the major credit agencies (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion), and they will notify the other two.
