MGM Resorts Admits To 2019 Hack

MGM Resorts

MGM Resorts International, a hotel and casino operator, admitted it had experienced a data breach following a report saying information on 10.6 million guests was compromised, according to a report by Reuters

“Last summer, we discovered unauthorized access to a cloud server that contained a limited amount of information for certain previous guests of MGM Resorts,” a company spokesman said on Thursday (Feb. 20).

The hotel said the data breach didn’t involve any password, financial or payment card information, and that all the guests who were affected were notified of the incident.

The information that did get out included names of guests who stayed at the resort as well as phone numbers, but the exact number of people affected was not released by the company. 

A technology website called ZDNet originally reported the data breach and passed along the 10.6 million number. ZDNet said the hack included information on notable people such as celebrities, chief executives, reporters and government officials.

MGM Resorts said it had hired cybersecurity experts to execute an internal investigation into the hack. The resort said it had upgraded its security to make sure a data breach like this one never happens again.

MGM Resorts has been at the forefront of digital operations, especially when it comes to eSports.

Last year, MGM Resorts transformed a former Luxor Hotel & Casino nightclub into an arena for eSports. The venue is 30,000 square feet and has a 50 foot LED wall. 

The space hosted the League of Legends tournament for 4,000 people. The company also wants to use the space for other eSports events, as well as use other lounges and bars for similar events.

“We want to be as creative as possible,” MGM Head of Esports Lovell Walker said at the time.

MGM Resorts has locations in Las Vegas, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland and New Jersey, and its properties include the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand and Park MGM.