MGM had an ‘F’ grade for vulnerability from cybersecurity firm

Reports have revealed that MGM received an ‘F’ grade from a cybersecurity analytics firm before witnessing the hack. The grade reflects the time that a venture takes to address its vulnerabilities. An ‘F’ grade does not showcase a bright picture, as it means that the platform is extremely vulnerable to experiencing a hack attack. This includes data breaches, ransomware attacks, and business interruptions.

The extent to which the business is required to make claims for cybersecurity or notifications reveals the seriousness of the hack attack.

An ‘F’ grade was assigned to MGM by BitSight. Any corporation that has the said grade is 3.2 times more likely to be hit with hacks as compared to those platforms that are graded ‘A’ by BitSight. Also, they are 50% more likely to be hit with the attack as compared to those who are graded ‘B’.

A platform’s online attack vulnerability is indicated by its ‘F’ patching cadence grade. The highest grade is ‘A’, followed by other alphabets. Thus, making ‘F’ the worst grade for anyone, especially an MGM.

Other platforms have also received an ‘F’ grade; however, MGM is mostly in the news for its history of online attacks. For instance, reports surfaced in February 2020 saying that MGM had experienced a breach in 2019. It covered the theft of sensitive data from 10.6 million customers, including celebrities. The data was stolen from the database of MGM and then marketed on the dark web.

MGM again confirmed a breach in May 2022, coming out with the news later in December of the same year.

The onus is practically on MGM to recover from the hack attack. As a matter of fact, it is more under pressure than any other brand, as it is said to be losing $8.4 million in revenue every day. With the impact on operations entering its 10th day, it is right to assume that the financials have been affected by $84 million in lost revenue.

That amount is more than what hackers are expected to seek and definitely higher than the amount that should otherwise have been spent on deploying more effective security measures.

According to casino news, Lior Frenkel has recommended steps that casinos and other industries can take to minimize online attacks. The Chief Executive Officer of Waterfall Security Solutions has asked companies to increase awareness about vulnerabilities, limit access control, strengthen network segmentation, and inculcate a habit of fixing patches and updates.

Online attacks are only going to get more sophisticated in the days to come. Meaning, platforms have no other option but to review their current security layer and update it as soon as possible. Not just that, they may also have to consider updating their security mechanisms regularly, at least for the sake of protecting their brand image and customer data.