"A company valued at $33,900,000,000 was defeated by a 10-minute conversation,"
New information has emerged claiming that the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group is responsible for Monday's debilitating cyberattack on MGM Resorts International. With rumors about a large ransom payment, some experts say the Las Vegas-based company may not even have been able to pay its employees on Friday.
According to a Tuesday night post from malware repository vx-underground, the ransomware gang was able to breach the entertainment and hospitality giant through a social engineering attack.
“All the ALPHV ransomware group did to compromise MGM Resorts was log on to LinkedIn, search for an employee, and then call support,” vx-underground posted on X (formally known as Twitter).
"A company valued at $33,900,000,000 was defeated by a 10-minute conversation,"
All ALPHV ransomware group did to compromise MGM Resorts was hop on LinkedIn, find an employee, then call the Help Desk.
— vx-underground (@vxunderground) September 13, 2023
A company valued at $33,900,000,000 was defeated by a 10-minute conversation.
the publication said.
According to vx-undeground, the threat actors themselves have claimed responsibility, although at the time of writing ALPHV/BlackCat has not mentioned the attack on its dark leak pages.
Monday's cyberattack forced hotel group MGM to shut down the company's network systems, leaving rooms inaccessible, digital room keys invalid, slot machines out of service, ATMs inoperable and casinos empty.
The websites of MGM's 31 resorts, including the dozen located directly on the Las Vegas Strip, have also been down since Monday, as has the company's mobile rewards app, leaving front-office staff struggling to accommodate cranky guests who have been constantly posting on social media throughout the ordeal.
Apparently, the same scene is being reported at other MGM resorts, including in Las Vegas. Ironically, the cyberattack took place just weeks after the world's two largest cybersecurity and hacker events (Black Hat and DEF CON) arrived in Las Vegas without incident. Meanwhile, security experts have been debating how threat actors were able to compromise the massive hotel and casino conglomerate and whether a ransom will eventually be paid.
Screen shot of the information hijacking notice
Vx-underground and others agree. The first said: “This particular subgroup of ALPHV ransomware has earned a reputation for having notable social engineering talent for initial access.”
"Vishing [voice or call-based phishing] is surprisingly easy right now in terms of people not caring about cyber.
“Employees are so exhausted, and organizations are overworking combined with alert fatigue… it makes things extremely easy,” they said.
I called ALPHV being responsible....sadly. Vishing is surprisingly easy right now in terms of people not caring in cyber. Employees are so burnt out and organizations are loading up work combined with alert fatigue....makes things extremely easy.
— EvilSec (@EvilSecOfficial) September 13, 2023
Cybersecurity professional and my goal just by talking to IT using people I used on LinkedIn.”
In other developments, @LasVegasLocally, a user who has been regularly posting on X with MGM insiders since the breach, said Tuesday night that "MGM Resorts executives are concerned the company won't be able to pay employees on Friday".
Funds issue or payroll system compromised? A lot of sensitive information goes with the transmission to the Federal Reserve. If they arenât fully secured they may need to cut manual checks
— Luis Roman (@luisromanvlog) September 13, 2023
On Monday, rumors also spread on social media about Las Vegas resort Caesar's Palace and its own brush with ransomware.
The story being told is that the hotel and casino were also compromised by threat actors the week before, and the company decided to quietly pay a $30 million ransom to the attackers, primarily to "avoid the problems MGM is experiencing." ".
Who is ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware?
While MGM continued to struggle with its recovery on Tuesday, around 5 p.m. ET, ALPHV/BlackCat was busy posting 2.5TB of stolen data from another of its alleged victims, semiconductor maker Seiko, whose attack was made public in August.
The ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware gang has existed since 2021. Operating as a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model, the gang is known for its use of the Rust programming language. According to a Microsoft research profile, ALPHV/BlackCat is also known to have worked closely with other ransomware groups such as Conti, LockBit, and REvil, as well as having ties to the Darkside and Blackmatter cybercriminal cartels.
According to cybersecurity analyst ANOZR WAY, the group was responsible for about 12% of all attacks in 2022. In mid-May, the gang said it had breached Mazars Group, an international auditing, accounting and consulting firm.
The group is currently known to use a more sophisticated ransomware variant known as Sphinx.
I loved
I liked
I dont liked
While the province’s beloved Edmonton Oilers used momentum to force a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals, a new push could get the Alberta sports betting market off the ground by the end of the year.
At the Canadian Gaming Summit last week, Alberta sports betting was the talk of the conference. That included Dale Nally, minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, confirming during a keynote speech the province will follow a model similar to Ontario sports betting.
“It’s going to be very similar to Ontario because we’re following their model,” Nally said, noting how much the province loves sports and the Oilers. “As far as I’m concerned, they built the roadmap. We’ll massage it a little bit but it’s been inspired by the experience in Ontario. It’s going to be an open and free market.”
Multiple speakers throughout the Summit said commercial Alberta sportsbooks could launch by the end of the year. It would be the second online commercial market in Canada sports betting.
Alberta sports betting path
Last month, Alberta lawmakers passed Bill 16, which allows the province to create a new regulatory body to oversee sports betting and online casinos, similar to iGaming Ontario.
That means Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis will not oversee the market. Nally said commercial operators made it clear they did not want AGLC running the market because AGLC runs PlayAlberta, the province’s online online gambling site.
PlayAlberta launched in 2021 after Canadian lawmakers changed the criminal code to allow for single-event sports wagering.
What’s next for Alberta sports betting
Nally said the discussions on the market’s framework are ongoing.
That includes conversations with the province’s 45 First Nations and commercial land-based casino operators. Those discussions will run through the summer, Nally said.
“We drew a line in the sand in 2019 and said we would be partners with indigenous communities,” Nally said. “We want them to be a part of the prosperity.”
What will be different in Alberta?
In Ontario, there is tension between First Nations and the provincial government, including a recent court case. This month, the Ontario Superior Court dismissed the Mohawk Council of Kahnawàke‘s case, which sought to defend its sovereignty in gambling.
Nally said he wants the First Nations involved as a form of “economic reconciliation.”
He also said, unlike Ontario, he wants Alberta’s 29 land-based casinos to be directly linked to the online market. Nelly did not specify if that means tethering licenses to casinos or some other type of connection.
Ontario’s first two years
In its second year of commercial online gambling, Ontario bettors wagered CAD$63 billion, a 78% increase over the first year, according to a market report released in April Operators generated CAD$2.4 billion in revenue, a 72% year-over-year increase.
Then Jay-Z, whose entertainment company Roc Nation is partnering with SL Green and Caesar’s on the Times Square casino bid, posted an open letter on Instagram, pleading with New Yorkers to pick him.
“This is too important of a moment in our city’s illustrious history” the letter warned. New Yorkers should go with an operator who puts them “at the top of their agenda.”
New Yorkers may be forgiven for having some doubts that a Times Square casino would really have their best interests at heart. Especially as the biggest sweetener — $115 million for diverse theater programs that include daycare for Broadway workers — seems aimed at softening up a group of Broadway owners who’ve been trying to block the Times Square casino.
(Nor is it the first time Jay-Z has been deployed to win over casino skeptics: “I remember one of the companies excitedly told me about Jay-Z. ‘He’s coming on board. Maybe you want to meet him?’” state senator Liz Krueger told Bloomberg earlier this year.)
It’s been a few months since New York opened the bidding process for the three downstate casino licenses, and billionaires have spent much of that time falling all over themselves to win New York City’s.
Right now, real-estate giants like Related and SL Green, hedge-funder/Mets owner Steve Cohen, real estate scion Steven Soloviev, and Coney Island magnate Joe Sitt have all thrown down a $1 million application fee to be in the running.
They’ll need to win over a six-member community advisory committee, then spend $500 million on the license and another $500 million in capital investment. It’s up to the applicants to figure out what kind of proposal and community perks package will persuade the committee to pick them, which leaves a lot of room for creativity.
Alberta has been confirmed as the latest Canadian province to consider opening up a regulated online gaming market, audiences at the Canadian Gaming Summit were told.
On Thursday, June 20, Dale Nally, Alberta Minister of Service and Red Tape Reduction, revealed that the province is officially moving forward with plans to open its own regulated market.
“Let me tell you a little bit about what our gaming site is going to look like,” Nally said. “It’s going to be very similar to Ontario, because we’re following their model. As far as I’m concerned, they build the roadmap. We’ll massage it a little bit but it’s been inspired by the experience in Ontario. It’s going to be an open and free market.”
Despite being the only regulated gaming operator in the province, Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis, which operates the PlayAlberta brand, will not oversee the regulated operators in the province, Nally confirmed.
Nally noted that operators wishing to enter the province would likely feel uneasy about cooperating with the AGLC and sharing data and information with a group that is essentially a competitor.
Alberta could replicate Ontario’s approach to avoid this issue, where iGaming Ontario works separately from regulator Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to conduct and manage individual gaming operations in the province.
Building on existing relationships between Alberta’s land-based gambling industry and the First Nations, Nally mentioned that the First Nations in the province will be involved in the marketplace as well.
Nally provided no timeline for the market opening, but did ensure that the legal steps are already in place for Danielle Smith, Alberta Premier, to move forward.
The announcement follows on from a bill that was passed into legislature in Alberta last month to confirm the province’s ability to conduct and manage gaming as they see fit, opening the door for an open market.
Senate Bill S-269, introduced by Senator Marty Deacon, aims to establish a national framework for regulating sports betting advertisements in Canada. Deacon, a member of the Independent Senators Group, noted that previous efforts to legalize gambling did not address the subsequent increase in advertising.
With approximately 16 months left before the next election in October 2025, time is limited for Parliament to pass Bill S-269. The bill must progress through the Senate and the House of Commons before an election call, which would dissolve the current legislative session.
Deacon believes the bill needs to reach the House by Christmas to have a chance of passing in this Parliament. There is general support for the legislation, but the timeline remains tight.
The governing Liberals have expressed their anticipation for the bill’s arrival in the House.
Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge acknowledged the widespread concern about the impacts of online gambling advertising on young people and other vulnerable groups.
The Bloc Québécois and Green Party also plan to review the bill when it reaches the House while the Green Party is still in the process of discussing the legislation within its caucus.
The NCAA has seen some success in its efforts to curb prop betting. Ten states – Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana (effective August 1st, 2024), Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Vermont – have all enacted bans on prop bets involving college athletes.
These bans vary slightly in scope, but all aim to eliminate the opportunity for wagers based on individual player performance. This growing list of states demonstrates a willingness to address the concerns raised by the NCAA and prioritize the integrity of college athletics.
"Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity and competition and leading to student athletes and professional athletes getting harassed. The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats and many are responding by banning college prop bets." Charlie BakerNCAA President
(571) 7568829 - 3606414 - 3606415 FAX (57 1) 3605027
Bogotá / Medellín / Cali / Pereira / Barranquilla
