Caesars Entertainment came forward this week to disclose a cyber attack in which client data was compromised.
This announcement comes a few days after MGM reported widespread system outages that were tied back to hackers.
As details continue to emerge, news sources are reporting that the same criminal crime organization is responsible for both incidents.
Caesars was hit with a denial of service where the hackers prevent access to systems until a ransom is paid.
The hackers initially asked for $30 million, and Caesars ultimately negotiated a ransom of 1/2 that number.
Caesar admitted that the hackers had gained access to personal client data from its loyalty program including driver’s license and social security data.
MGM was hacked several days after the Caesar’s incident.
The FBI was called in to help MGM with the investigation but the company is still in chaos five days after the initial event.
Five days after the hackers were able to gain control of key systems, MGM’s slot machines were still offline.
Digital hotel keys were not working, and many payment processing systems were offline nationwide.
While Caesar’s strategy of paying the ransom is questionable ethically, the comparison to MGM’s continued outage is a stark contrast which is sure to spark ongoing discussions about the best course of action to limit damage.
Caesars systems were returned to normal operating and the company is not anticipating any ongoing issues or hits to revenue or stock pricing.
The same can not be said for MGM who is still not out of the woods with the original incident.
It is undetermined how much revenue the company has lost because of the outages nor is there an assessment of how much reputational damage will be done.
MGM stock is down in the last week, while Caesar’s is up.
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