Data Breach at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines
Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, Ill., is warning customers about a data breach that occurred in August where hackers got into their computer network and stole information.
The casino, along with law enforcement officials and outside cybersecurity professionals, has launched an investigation to determine the impact and scope of a data breach that occurred in August.
“On November 2, 2023, we determined that files containing certain personal information of Rivers Casino Des Plaines Team Members, customers, and online sportsbook customers may have been accessed or removed from our network,” the casino said in a press statement on Thursday.
The casino explained the unauthorized access occurred on or around August 12, 2023, but they just recently realized what had happened.
“We have not identified any indication that the networks of any other Rivers casinos were accessed during this incident,” the company said.
In addition to its Des Plaines, Ill., location, Rivers Casino has properties in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pa., Portsmouth, Va., and Schenectady, N.Y.
Rivers said the unauthorized access at Des Plaines did not impact their casino operations and “no BetRivers online or mobile gaming platform, operations or systems were compromised or breached.”
Rivers did say the affected information of concern from the breach included name, contact information (such as phone number, email address, and postal address), date of birth, driver’s licenses, or government ID numbers.
For a limited number of customers or employees, financial account information, tax identification numbers, Social Security numbers, and/or passport numbers were affected, the company said. Rivers said they don’t believe customer passwords or payment card information was affected by the breach.
The casino is in the process of notifying anyone potentially impacted.
“We encourage potentially affected individuals to contact us to determine whether they may be eligible for the free identity monitoring and protection services we are offering,” the company said in their statement.
The casino industry has experienced a series of cyber-attacks recently that almost paralyzed some company operations.
Cyber Attacks Hitting Big Casino Operators
In September, Caesars Entertainment confirmed they identified suspicious activity in its information technology network resulting from a cyber-attack.
Caesars said hackers acquired a copy of their loyalty program database. The database contains driver’s license numbers and/or social security numbers for a significant number of members.
Like Rivers Casino Des Plaines, Caesars said they had no evidence that any member passwords/PINs, bank account information, or payment card information were acquired by the hackers.
“The full scope of the costs and related impacts of this incident has not been determined,” Caesars said in September.
Following Caesars, MGM Resorts International shut down their computer systems after being hit with a ransomware attack on Sept. 11.
The cyber-attack almost paralyzed MGM, affecting hotel reservations, players’ reward programs, the company’s website, mobile app, room charges, and other computer-related services.
The company did determine that the hackers obtained some customer information from transactions prior to March 2019.
Several MGM locations had to postpone kiosk games, drawings, and rescheduled gift giveaways at properties.
This wasn’t the first time MGM had dealt with a hacking incident. The company’s BetMGM app reported a security breach in December that involved the names, Social Security numbers, and financial information of an unknown number of customers.
MGM is one of the largest resort & casino operators in the world with destinations in Las Vegas, Detroit, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, and New Jersey casinos.
The company estimates a negative impact from the cyber security issue in September of approximately $100 million to the Las Vegas Strip Resorts and regional operations, collectively.
MGM was able to restore normal operations in early October following the cyber-attack on Sept. 11.
