Maybe not 100%
More than a week after hackers crippled its computer systems, MGM Resorts International says that its “hotels and casinos are operating normally.” In a Tuesday morning statement, Nevada’s largest employer thanked customers for their patience and noted that there could still some “intermittent” issues.
“Our resort services, dining, entertainment, pools and spas are operating normally and welcoming thousands of guests each day,” said the company in a post on X. “Our gaming floors, including slots, table games, and poker rooms are open. Visitors to all of our properties may use Slot Dollars and FREEPLAY, and our slots are recording gaming spend. Our slot ticket-in/ticket-out systems are up and running, and our amazing employees are available to help guests with any intermittent issues. We thank you for your patience and look forward to welcoming you soon.”
It does not seem, however, that all operations are truly back to normal. In a similar statement posted a little later on its website, MGM said, “MGM Rewards members’ accounts will be adjusted to reflect Tier Credits and MGM Rewards points at a later date. MGM Rewards points redemption and certain promotional offers may be unavailable.”
The website also says that people can book dining, bar, lounge, nightlife, spa, and salon reservations on the website or mobile app, as well as see what shows and concerts are available and link to ticketing websites. What is not mentioned, however, is hotel room booking availability. Considering that has been one of the biggest problems – lines at the front desk of MGM’s properties have snaked around the lobby and the hotel room electronic lock systems have not worked – one would think MGM would tout that if the issue was resolved.
X account Las Vegas Locally confirmed that not everything is perfect yet, saying bluntly, “Update: lots of stuff at MGM properties is still f*cked up.”
Expert says casino cybersecurity is poor
In an interview with CNBC last week, Dave Kennedy, founder and CEO of cybersecurity consulting firm TrustedSec, said that casinos have some of the worst cybersecurity of any industry. He said that while they have all sorts of great security on the casino floor like the “eye in the sky,” facial recognition systems, and the like, their failing is thinking of themselves as being more hospitality companies than financial services companies.
As such, they have not focused on protecting their computer systems and networks as they should. Kennedy calls their emphasis on physical security rather than cyber infrastructure an “antiquated” way of thinking. Part of their problem, he said, is that it would be less expensive to overhaul their cybersecurity infrastructure than to fix problems like the current hack that is costing them millions of dollars a day, but they don’t want to take systems down and disrupt daily operations.
Of course, the past week has been quite the interruption, so perhaps MGM will rethink things.
