MGM Data Breach Lawsuit Filed in Nevada

Casino operator MGM Resorts International has been sued over a data breach last year, which reportedly involved details of over 10.6 million hotel guests. The lawsuit was filed by law firm Morgan & Morgan, whose lawyer John Yanchunis has also represented some Yahoo users in a breach of 3 billion accounts a few years ago.

MGM Resorts said on Thursday that last summer it “discovered unauthorized access to a cloud server that contained a limited amount of information for certain previous guests”. Details of more than 10.6 million hotel guests were posted on a hacking forum. The data dump contains affected guests’ full names, home addresses, phone numbers, emails and dates of birth. The details in the leaked files reportedly included information on celebrities, chief executives of technology companies, reporters and government officials.

The lawsuit was filed as a “complaint for damages” and “injunctive relief”, according to the filing at the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. Although MGM’s privacy policy purports that the company uses “industry standard” cyber security measures, MGM’s failure to protect customers’ data from unauthorized parties suggests otherwise, the lawsuit argues. MGM offered 12 months of free credit monitoring to those affected by the breach, but the plaintiff says that class members face potentially years of an increased risk of identity theft.

HT: MtM