The Hacker Behind the MGM Hack Apparently Also Hacked Three Other Companies

Illustration of hackers (photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Hackers who broke into casino giants MGM Resort and Caesar Entertainment have reportedly hacked three other companies in the last few weeks.

David Bradbury, head of security at identity management company Okta, told Reuters that the ransomware group known as ALPHV had compromised three other companies in manufacturing, retail and technology.

However, Bradbury did not name the other three companies, but emphasized that Okta is currently cooperating with an official investigation into the breach.

“We saw this happen over a very short period of time and we thought we should address this to the industry at large and explain what's happening here,” Bradbury said.

Okta is a company that provides identity and access services to the United States based in San Francisco, which has more than 17,000 customers worldwide.

Last month its US customers reported consistent attacks in which hackers posed as employees of victim companies, and convinced them to provide duplicate access.

It was these multiple breaches identified at its customers last month that  prompted the company to issue a warning.

“We have seen consistently over the last six to 12 months an increase in these types of attacks,” he added.

A few days ago, the FBI announced that it was investigating a cybersecurity incident at MGM Resorts International that had caused some of the casino operator's systems to crash for three consecutive days.

The financially motivated hacking group ALPHV claimed the MGM hack, and warned MGM of further attacks if they did not reach an agreement.

But the company reportedly refused to pay. The conversation that granted early access took just 10 minutes, the group claims.

Bradbury added that the group had breached MGM and gained access to Okta clients, allowing it to access more credentials in the company's identity management system.