MGM to pay $45m to data breach and ransomware victims

29 Jan 2025

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More than 37m people are said to have had their personal information compromised in incidents that took place in 2019 and 2023.

To settle class action lawsuits, US-based MGM Resorts International has agreed to pay $45m to victims of a 2019 data breach and a 2023 ransomware attack. The settlement was reached in a Las Vegas courtroom (21 January) with a final approval hearing to take place later this year (18 June). 

The 2019 breach exposed the names, addresses and passport numbers of the chain’s casino users, including the details of high-profile celebrities, CEOs, reporters and government officials, while the 2023 ransomware attack, in addition to names, addresses and passport numbers, also gave cybercriminals access to people’s social security numbers, their military IDs and driver licence numbers.

Ransomware hackers, affiliated with hacking group BlackCat/Alphv, were linked to the attack and in July of 2024 a 17-year old boy from the UK, with alleged links to the global crime group, was arrested on suspicion of having been involved with the cyberattack on MGM’s systems. MGM has since revealed that it lost roughly $100m since the incident. 

In documents filed with the US District Court of Nevada, it was stated that the compensatory $45m will be dispersed to victims via a tiered system based on the level of harm and information stolen. Those in tier one will receive $75, tier two will receive $50 and tier three will receive $20. 

Victims who can issue the court with documentation of additional losses incurred from breach related identity fraud may receive more and those who file a documented loss cash payment claim form can receive up to $15,000. A portion of the $45m will also be used to pay for lawyers’ fees, payout-related administration work and identity theft protection services. 

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Laura Varley is the Careers reporter for Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com