MGM ransomware attack costs $100 million, in busy month for breaches

Based on the company’s ongoing investigation, third-party activity within MGM systems has been contained but personal information of several customers (transacting with MGM prior to 2019) were obtained by the attackers. The personal information included name, contact details, gender, date of birth, and driver’s license number, MGM said.

Ransomware is top cyberattack type

Ransomware remained the top type of cyberattack in September, with at least five big-ticket attacks, according to a study by cybersecurity company Cyfirma. Other than MGM, the top victims in September included the Save the Children global nonprofit organization, Auckland University in New Zealand, the Canadian healthcare network BORN, and the Johnson Group marketing firm.

Each of the attacks resulted in the loss of several gigabytes, up to terabytes, of customer or stakeholder data, Cyfirma said. Manufacturing and real estate were the top-hit sectors for the month, and the US was the region most impacted by ransomware attacks.

The busiest ransomware groups for the month included BlackCat (ALPHV), Cuba, and Mimic (FreeWorld variant) with notable entrants including 3AM Ransomware, LostTrust, and CryptBB.

The impact of ransomware is not likely to diminish. “The ransomware economy has become incredibly lucrative as these cybercriminal groups have become highly organized and systematic,” said Cyfirma CEO Kumar Ritesh, in an email response to questions abut the MGM attack. Part of the issue is the backing of nation-state actors.

“Ransomware attacks have also been used to advance geopolitical interests and with strong backing by nation states, these attacks will certainly escalate in the near term,” Ritesh said. However, impacted companies should not pay ransomware, he warned.