Most patrons of MGM Springfield received an email yesterday from the CEO of MGM Resorts International.
It wasn’t good news. MGM CEO Bill Hornbuckle messaged all MGM Rewards members Thursday evening. He detailed what information was affected by the recent cyberattack and how the company attempted to rectify the situation.
A group of hackers breached MGM’s IT systems nearly a month ago. The hack affected MGM’s casinos nationwide. But in Massachusetts, their only property is MGM Springfield.
You probably received the email if you’re a Massachusetts gambler who frequents the Central Massachusetts casino. Here’s what’s in it.
Law enforcement is looking into the hack, all operations are back to normal
In the intro of the email, Hornbuckle says the company shut down their systems when they noticed the breach.
He claimed this move minimized the damage, and they are working with federal law enforcement agencies to investigate the issue further.
Hornbuckle didn’t say it outright. But the move to shut down the system is likely why the day-to-day operations were affected. ATMs weren’t functioning properly, some slot machines were unavailable, and attendants needed to pay all cashouts manually.
Those problems appear to be resolved.
However, part of MGM’s poker operations is still affected. MGM lists its games and waitlists on the Bravo Poker Live. Poker players still can’t see what games are running at MGM Springfield from the app. MGM did not address this minor issue in the email.
Here’s what customer information was compromised
The hackers obtained some personal data on MGM Rewards members. Luckily, according to Hornbuckle, hackers didn’t steal bank account numbers or credit card information.
Here’s what data the hackers obtained:
- Name
- Contact information
- Gender
- Date of birth
- Driver’s license number
- A limited number of social security numbers and passport numbers
“We have no evidence that the criminal actors have used this data to commit identity theft or account fraud,” wrote Hornbuckle.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission discussed the breach at three public meetings following the attack. The most recent was on Oct. 2.
However, the commissioners voted to discuss the issue in a private executive session. As a result, we don’t know if the MGC took any additional steps to protect Bay State bettors from this in the future.
MGM provides certain services to anyone affected
The Las Vegas-based casino giant is taking steps to help affected customers as part of their “remediation efforts.”
Anyone who received the email is eligible for free identity protection and credit monitoring services. Secondly, they established a call center for anyone with questions and concerns about the attack.
Affected players can call 1-800-621-9437 Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. CT. The hotline is open on weekends from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. CT.
