What can we learn from last year’s cyber attack on MGM?
On September 12, 2023, MGM Resorts International experienced a cyber attack that resulted in them shutting down their systems. The investigation is ongoing, but crime groups Scattered Spider and APLHV are believed to have used social engineering to hack into the company. What do we know now? And what can companies do to avoid being the victim of such scenarios?
The MGM system shut down
MGM tweeted September 12 about a “cybersecurity issue affecting some of the company’s systems.” They had to shut them down to protect customer data and their entire infrastructure. However, the issue persisted for several days, with hotel customers unable to use their digital room keys and slot machines not working at all. As of writing, the company has not made any updates on whether or not the system shutdown has been resolved, announcing only that they are continually working on resolving the issue.
Cause and culprits: What happened?
The primary suspect in the incident is Scattered Spider, a hacking group composed of people in their late teens and early 20s. ALPHV, a ransomware-as-a-service company, is also claiming responsibility for the incident, and they are denying that Scattered Spider had a role to play in the incident.
