Cyber attacks are a truly mind-boggling form of thievery. Someone could steal your data without ever even leaving the comfort of their home. MGM Resorts International, the Las Vegas based chain is now facing legal action after two cyber attacks.<\/p>\n
MGM Resorts International is currently faced with two data breach class action lawsuits<\/a>. The federal court has granted a preliminary approval of a $45 million settlement for these cases. The cyber attacks against the resort chain were carried out in July 2019 and then again in September 2023<\/a> with final approval for the settlement scheduled later this year, in June.<\/p>\n The two class actions were consolidated by the courts due to its similarity.<\/p>\n Under a global settlement, class members whose Social Security numbers or military identification numbers were exposed are eligible for a $75 cash payment while those whose passport number or driver\u2019s license was exposed are eligible for $50. In addition, all settlement class members may get identity theft protection and credit monitoring.<\/p>\n Attorneys for the class action estimated that MGM has a database of around 37 million customers, as per documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Nevada.<\/p>\n Douglas McNamara, co-lead interim class counsel and a partner at Cohen Milstein shared, “On behalf of millions of MGM Resort customers, I\u2019m very pleased with this settlement. The hotel and entertainment industries are particularly desirable targets for hackers. The same hackers also attacked Caesars Entertainment Inc. in 2023.”<\/p>\n MGM’s competitor Caesars is also facing a similar class action with McNamara serving as interim co-lead class counsel as well.<\/p>\n The second cyber attack in September 2023 was especially detrimental to the company. The resort chain which operates 11 gaming and nongaming resort properties in Las Vegas, including Bellagio, MGM Grand, Aria and Mandalay Bay, was rendered crippled for several days after this attack. The attack brought on an estimated $100 million in damages but insurance coverage did manage to ultimately pay for most of it.<\/p>\n The September attack was the second in two months for the industry. In August, industry peer Caesars faced a similar attack. This attack, however, ended quite quickly as the company had reportedly paid\u00a0a multimillion-dollar ransom to the attackers. Law enforcement officials advised MGM not to pay, and it didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n The September attack on MGM lasted around nine days and those days brought nothing but utter turmoil to the company. These nine days of trouble at MGM properties disrupted business for Nevada’s largest employer.<\/p>\nHow did these cyber attacks impact the resort?<\/h2>\n