Prior to the cyberattack that downed MGM's computer systems, Caesars gave a ransom payment estimated to be $15 million to a cybercriminal gang who had breached and disrupted its systems. The payment and accompanying issues are not expected to have a significant effect on the company's financials, as per an 8-K filing. Bloomberg reported that the same cybercriminal gang is responsible for both assaults.
Prior to MGM's systems being taken offline due to a cyberattack, sources close to the matter relayed to CNBC that Caesars had paid $15 million in ransom to a cybercrime group that had infiltrated and put a strain on its systems. The same group had also demanded an $30 million ransom from Caesars, which it eventually paid around half of. Accounting for the costs will be done by the cyber insurance policies that Caesars owns. The filing made by Caesars on Thursday states that the fallout from this incident shouldn't have a substantial effect on the company's finances. Google Cloud's Mandiant Chief Technology Officer Charles Carmakal commented that the members of this group, while young and with less experience than other extortion and ransomware groups, are still a menace to bigger corporations in the US due to their proficiency in social engineering. Bloomberg had previously reported the ransom demand and that the same group was behind the attacks on both companies. The group, UNC3944 or Roasted 0ktapus, was also connected to the MGM attack by vx-underground, a well-known cybersecurity researcher on X. Reports from security researchers connected this group to other companies, such as Cloudflare, Okta and Twilio. As per SEC rules, companies must file a report within a period of four days noting any material events. It's uncertain why Caesars took so long to file the report specifying the hack and ransom. The SEC was attempting to establish a new cybersecurity disclosure rule this year requiring that companies state how a cyberattack has impacted them in an 8-K report. This rule will be put into action by the end of 2020.
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