According to a report by Bloomberg, Caesars Entertainment was the subject of a cyberattack in recent weeks that saw casino operator pay out as much as $30 million (€27.9 million) to hackers.
The report, citing sources familiar with the situation, states that there was a series of ransomware attacks on the company that were carried out by the same group that targeted MGM Resorts earlier this week.
The hacker group goes by the name of ‘Scattered Spider’ and is known within the cybersecurity industry as UNC 3944. It’s believed that the Caesars attacks began as early as August 27th. There are also reports that ‘Scattered Spider’ may have also worked in partnership with hacker group ‘ALPHV/BlackCat’ to carry out the attacks.
In a similar approach to the MGM hack, the group first breached an external IT vendor which then gave them access to the company’s network.
While Caesars is believed to have paid the ransom, it is still obliged by law to report the event to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It’s not yet clear how many Caesars properties may have been impacted by the cyberattack but there was no visible interruption of operations at the time.
Caesars has yet to comment on the reports.
An experienced iGaming commentator and analyst based in New York City - Jenny reports on regulation and gambling industry news and events.