In a significant blow to American Hospitality and Entertainment organization MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM) International, a cyberattack has resulted in over $52 million in lost revenue. The cybercrime, which took place this past week, caused nearly all of MGM's hotels, casinos, and ATMs to go offline.
The attack began with a simple social engineering scam. A cybercriminal impersonated an MGM employee using information found on a LinkedIn post. The criminal then contacted the company's IT department requesting a password reset. Unaware of the impersonation, the IT department complied, giving the attacker access to the employee's account. This ultimately led to the cybercriminal gaining control over MGM's entire system.
Kingston Police highlighted this incident as a stark example of the potential dangers of such scams. They offered advice to local residents on how to protect themselves from similar attacks. They emphasized being cautious about sharing personal information online as it can be used by cybercriminals for phishing attacks.
In addition, they advised verifying the identity of individuals before sharing sensitive information with them. This could be done by reaching out through another form of contact or meeting face-to-face. Lastly, they warned against trusting emails, texts, and social media posts containing shocking information about such events as they could be disinformation designed to mislead individuals.
This incident underscores the importance of robust cybersecurity measures and vigilance against potential social engineering attacks in today's digital landscape.
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