MGM Resorts announced a $45 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission this week after undergoing a data breach in 2023 that exposed the personal information of 37 million customers.
As a result, the FTC has now dropped legal action against the company and those affected have received emails instructing them how to file a claim. Here’s a look at the payments available to those who may have had their data compromised:
- Social Security numbers exposed – may be eligible for a $75 payment.
- Passport or driver’s license number exposed – may be eligible for a $50 payment.
- Address and birthdate exposed – may be eligible for a $20 payment.
Those eligible received an email with a unique ID and PIN to file a claim. Claimants receiving the payouts can also receive a year of free credit monitoring. The deadline for submitting claims is June 3.
In October 2023, a group of hackers called Scattered Spider gained access to Caesars Entertainment’s and MGM Resorts’ computer systems. According to reports, Caesars paid a $30 million ransom to keep the group from disrupting day-to-day operations.
MGM, on the other hand, refused to give the hackers any cash. As a result, chaos ensued as the group disrupted slot machines, hotel operations and anything else that was run by the computer systems. The problems persisted at the company’s casinos nationwide.
Last year, MGM filed a lawsuit against the FTC after the commission ordered the company to produce information regarding procedures, previous security incidents, identity theft measures, key personnel involved in data security, and more. The settlement now ends the legal wrangling.
After days of being shut down and reformatting servers across the company, MGM eventually got operations back up and running smoothly.
“We found ourselves in an environment where for the next four or five days, with 36,000 hotel rooms and some regional properties, we were completely in the dark,” CEO Bill Hornbuckle said. “Literally, the telephones, the casino system, the hotel system – and I could go on and on and on – were not functioning. And so… you put the company to the test.”
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company noted that the ordeal cost about $100 million.
