MGM cyberattack investigated by FBI: Las Vegas hotel computer systems including digital keys to the Bellagio’s 3,933 rooms and slot machines at the ARIA casino hit by hackers
- The FBI is investigating an attack on MGM Resorts International Hotels
- Digital keys at the Bellagio and slot machines at the ARIA were hit by hackers
The FBI is investigating a cyberattack that caused chaos at several Las Vegas resorts – leaving guests at the iconic Bellagio unable to enter its 3,933 rooms and the ARIA casino completely empty as slot machines glitched.
MGM Resorts International hotels which has about 48,000 rooms on The Strip and includes Mandalay Bay, the Bellagio, Luxor and MGM Grand, among others was hit with the attack Monday.
The outage, first detected on Sunday night, affected company emails, reservations, room keys and casino slot machines.
The company said in a statement on Monday: ‘MGM Resorts recently identified a cybersecurity issue affecting some of the Company’s systems.
‘Promptly after detecting the issue, we quickly began an investigation with assistance from leading external cybersecurity experts.
‘We also notified law enforcement and took prompt action to protect our systems and data, including shutting down certain systems. Our investigation is ongoing, and we are working diligently to determine the nature and scope of the matter.’
A cyberattack that left guests with faulty door locks, inoperable slot machines and shut down reservation and email systems at several major hotels in Las Vegas is being investigated by the FBI
MGM Resorts International hotels which has about 48,000 rooms on The Strip and includes Mandalay Bay, the Bellagio, Luxor and MGM Grand, among others was hit with the attack Monday
A concierge at the iconic Bellagio hotel told NBC News 3 the whole system was down ‘internally and externally.’
At about 8pm MGM resorts released a statement saying the casino gaming floors were operational as they continued to resolve the issue, ktnv reported.
Guests of MGM properties took to social media to speak out about the situation, with many saying they were unable to get into their rooms.
Footage filmed at the ARIA casino shows machines off across the floor offline as memes erupted across the internet about the attack likened to popular 2001 film Ocean’s 11.
MGM is the biggest employer in Nevada and owns most of the casinos on the Strip.
The company’s website was also unavailable during the attack and directed potential guests to call for reservations.
Guests of MGM properties took to social media to speak about the situation
ATMs and credit card machines were also down – restaurants at the properties were only taking cash and room charges had been paused.
Guests told 8NewsNow that they were locked out of their rooms on Sunday night and unable to buy food due to the system outages.
Some have claimed that they were left unable to claim their ticket and cash out after playing at the casino’s slot machines.
The outage also appeared to affect MGM properties outside of Vegas, including the Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and the Mississippi-based Biloxi.
MGM was hacked back in 2020, with a reported 142 million guests affected.
Among the people implicated in the breach were Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, and Justin Bieber.
ZDNet verified that there was no financial information in the breach and according to an MGM spokesperson, mostly consisted of, ‘contact information like names, postal addresses, and email addresses.’
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