Attackers used LinkedIn to find an MGM employee, called the help desk impersonating them, and got admin access in ten minutes. They then encrypted the company's systems with ransomware, locking hotel rooms and disabling slot machines and payment systems. The group, Scattered Spiders, pulled off a similar $15 million theft from Caesars.
Questions this video answers
Caitlin Sarian
September 15, 2023
Scattered Spiders
Within ten minutes
$15 million
Chapters
Here's exactly what happened to the MGM resorts cyber attack in the most simple terms, so even your grandma can understand this. Hi, I'm Kayla. I'm a cybersecurity and data protection expert and I want to help you understand what happened with the MGM resorts. Let's go. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about MGM's cybersecurity attack. So a cyber attack breached the computer system and forced the company to shut down operations to dozens of most iconic hotels. Attack left hotel guests locked out of the rooms, unable to use mobile apps or digital keys. They're also not able to use the slot machines or any credit card machines. It's a nightmare. And, and here's exactly what happened. What the hacker group did was go on LinkedIn to get information about an employee that had admin access. Then they called the MGM help desk and pretended to be that employee to try to get that employee's login. And I guess within 10 minutes they got the login for that admin employee. An employee with admin access means they have highest clearance and have access to the most confidential data. Before we continue, make sure to like and follow for all the cybersecurity tips and news. This is what we call social engineering. It's and social engineering is literally just tricking someone into getting sensitive information. Once in, the hacker group just uploaded their malware and encrypted all the information. Once all the key information was encrypted, MGM was then locked out of most of their systems and it was held for ransom. And this is what they call a ransomware attack. Ransomware attack is when hackers just lock up basically all your computer files and say they're not going to give it back to you unless you pay a certain amount of money, AKA they hold your computer files for ransom. Once a company pays a ransom, the hacker group decrypts the data and the company then has access. The MGM is still under attack. We don't know when it's going to end and they're really not giving us that much information. The hacker group is believed to be the Scattered Spiders, which is young adults in the US and the uk. And this group is known for social engineering schemes like this. Scattered Spiders also recently targeted Caesar's group. They got $15 million from like and follow for more cybersecurity tips. And be sure to follow part two, where I'll explain how we can protect ourselves from social engineering attempts like this.
