MGM Resorts Cyberattack: From Cloud to Casino Floor – Skyhigh Security Intelligence Digest

By Rodman Ramezanian - Global Cloud Threat Lead, Skyhigh Security

October 18, 2023 < 1 Minute Read

MGM Resorts, the operator of several renowned hotels and casinos along the iconic Las Vegas Strip, including the Bellagio, Aria, and Cosmopolitan, initiated extensive network shutdowns in response to intensifying cyberattacks. This led to significant disruptions throughout its hotel and casino properties, with guests experiencing issues ranging from unavailable ATMs and slot machines to malfunctioning room digital key cards and electronic payment systems.

The culprits? Cyber criminals with a knack for social engineering.

Their tradecraft? A cleverly executed social engineering maneuver paved their way to initial access, utilizing a senior MGM user’s LinkedIn profile to facilitate the resetting of multi-factor authentication (MFA) requests via the internal helpdesk.

Ransomware attacks have traditionally employed diverse methods, such as phishing, credential theft, vulnerability exploitation, and more.

Social engineering, or more specifically in this case, vishing (voice phishing) has become more effective in recent years. Skyhigh Security adopts zero trust principles through its Security Service Edge solution to enable you to implement tighter network security and segmentation of private apps and resources.

What can be done? Learn about solutions in the latest Intelligence Digest.

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