Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International recently suffered devastating cyberattacks. The latter company was forced to shut down many of its systems for several days, while Caesars was allegedly forced to strike an agreement with the hackers. The two gambling giants’ woes are not over yet as new lawsuits allege the pair failed to protect important customer data.
A total of five class-action lawsuits were filed in Nevada District Court. Claiming that loyalty program customer data had been compromised during the attacks, the lawsuits allege that the casino giants failed to be diligent enough.
According to the plaintiffs, Caesars and MGM Resorts were well aware of the importance of consumer data but still failed to protect it, breaching the Federal Trade Commission guidelines and standards. As a result, some of the casino companies’ customers, whose data got compromised, may now be more vulnerable to identity theft.
Consumers Are Now at Risk of Identity Theft
Stranch, Jennings and Garvey filed two lawsuits against Caesars. The Stranch lawsuits plaintiffs are the Illinoisan Alexis Giuffre and the Coloradoan Paul Garcia, two loyal Caesars customers. Another lawsuit was filed by the O’Mara Law Firm, representing Thomas and Laura McNicholas, two Illinois-based Caesars customers.
Kopelowitz Ostrow Ferguson Weiselberg Gilbert launched two separate lawsuits against MGM Resorts, representing Emily Kirwan and Tonya Owens, two MGM consumers from Louisiana and Mississippi respectively.
The plaintiffs in question will now seek compensation for the potential risk Caesars and MGM Resorts’ lack of diligence has exposed them to.
The plaintiffs and the two casino companies are yet to release statements on the matter.
MGM Resorts Continues Its Recovery
First referred to as a “cybersecurity issue,” the attack had forced MGM Resorts to shut down many of its systems for a few days. Because of the attack, Moody’s warned MGM that its credit rating might be lowered. Back then, the casino company refused to comment on the matter.
In the aftermath of the attack, MGM Resorts continues its efforts to patch up its business. Currently, the company’s computer systems are operating normally and the majority of other systems are also functional.
MGM and Caesars were not the only victims of the attack. According to Okta, the ALPHV and Scattered Spider groups targeted three more unidentified companies. The hackers used social engineering to get hold of valuable data and try to force the victims to pay ransom.