Vegas Cyber Attacks and Ransom Payments to Criminals

In a world where cybercrimes were becoming increasingly sophisticated and frequent, companies like Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (Caesars) were faced with a difficult choice: to pay or not to pay a ransom to cybercriminals. Caesars, one of the major casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada had just paid a ransom worth $15 million to a cybercrime group that hacked its systems and held its operations and future revenues hostage. Soon after, MGM Resorts International (MGM) found itself in the same situation but elected to take another route. Going forward, the dilemma many pondered revolved around whether it was justifiable for organizations to pay ransoms to cybercriminals. While paying might seem like the quickest way to regain control of compromised systems and data, it also raised concerns about perpetuating a cycle of criminal activity and undermining efforts to combat cybercrime.