MGM Resorts is using a Big Tech strategy to fight Lina Khan’s FTC—but will it work?
Khan, who was a guest at the hotel during last year’s cyberattack, is now leading an investigation into how the event was handled. And like Meta and Amazon before it, MGM wants Khan to recuse herself.
This past September, cybercriminals broke into the computer systems at MGM Resorts and demanded a $30 million ransom, crippling operations inside its hotels: Slot machine screens displayed sad-face emojis, credit card purchases got processed by hand, guests found other people checked into their rooms. Chaos lasted for days, and while MGM didn’t pay the ransom, it later acknowledged that the hackers did make off with tons of customer data—everything from names, contact info, and dates of birth to driver’s license numbers and a “limited number” of social security and passport numbers.