According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, this decision was made late Thursday. On the same day, the company also published a regulatory filing, revealing further details of the breach.
MGM Resort Attack
MGM Resort is a premier hospitality and casino giant, that operates on a global scale with establishments in more than a dozen cities, including Las Vegas. Applications for internet betting are also available. The company's most recent fiscal year saw more than $13 billion in revenue.
In September, the company experienced a high-profile cyberattack, resulting in a disruption in its operations. Following the intrusion, there were protracted disruptions of the company's resorts' slot machines, ATMs, and other systems. Employees reportedly had to use pen and paper to check guests in.
In its Thursday regulatory filing, the company noted that the hackers had acquired the personal data of “some” customers, who had used its services before March 2019. This data included customers’ contact details, gender, dates of birth, and license numbers. A "limited" number of Social Security and passport numbers were also stolen by the hackers.
The company has not yet revealed the exact number of affected customers. However, they confirm that no bank details or payment card information has been compromised. Also, the hackers did not target the company’s Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas resort.
As per the filing, hackers had stolen the private information of the company’s customers and claimed that the breach would cost them roughly $100 million. Less than a tenth of that amount was spent on costs related to fixing the breach. In its report, MGM Resorts revealed how little it spent on "remedial technology consulting, legal, and advisory services."
The company adds that to remediate the issue, it will cover the expenses with its cybersecurity insurance. But it did issue a warning that the "full scope of the costs and related impacts of this issue has not been determined."
The incident resulted in a drop in occupancy at MGM Resorts' Las Vegas properties, with occupancy reaching 88% in September as opposed to 93% a year earlier, according to the company's filing. MGM Resorts anticipates doing better this month, with internal forecasts predicting occupancy levels in October will reach 93%, which would represent a decline of only 1% from last year.
However, the company assures that it will have a financial boost in its fourth quarter, all because of the Formula One event scheduled next month in Las Vegas. MGM Resorts confirmed that they do not expect the breach to “have a material effect on its financial condition and results of operations for the year.”
