Des Plaines River Casino faces class action lawsuit over data breach in August
Des Plaines, Illinois, River Casino faces a class-action lawsuit over its role in an August cyberattack that resulted in the theft of data from thousands of people.
Attorneys representing class members, which includes more than 100 people, filed the lawsuit in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois, alleging that the casino was negligent and failed to properly protect its IT network. The lawsuit seeks damages, restitution and injunctive relief for the class.
Rivers was the victim of a cyberattack that casino officials said occurred around August 12th. However, the incident was not discovered until early November. The casino's Chicago-based parent company, Rush Street Gaming, said the names of employees and customers were compromised, along with their confidential information, including Social Security and passport numbers.
Lead plaintiff Michael Glebiff claims his information was part of their seizure. He said he would not have visited Rivers Casino in Des Plaines or entrusted his personal information to the company "if he had known that Rivers Casino could not ensure adequate data security."
Cyber Attack Details
Rivers Casino Des Plaines suffered unauthorized access to its IT network. This appears to be similar to recent cyberattacks targeting MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment. An international hacking group called Dispersed Spiders claimed responsibility for the attacks on MGM and Caesars.
The Rivers cyberattack did not disrupt operations, as the casino operated normally on and around August 12. Cybersecurity firms investigating the breach do not believe any credit card information was stolen.
However, the lawsuit alleges that hackers who obtained "personal information" such as tax identification numbers and government ID cards created a significant risk of theft for affected workers and customers.
Data thieves often target companies like the defendants because they possess highly sensitive information. “Defendants knew and understood that unprotected personal information is valuable and highly sought after by criminal parties who seek to unlawfully profit from this PII through unauthorized access,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants failed to The consequences of keeping plaintiffs' and class members' personal information secure are long-term and severe. Once personal information, especially Social Security numbers, is stolen, the fraudulent use of that information and the harm to victims can continue for years."
The class action lawsuit includes five counts, including negligence, negligence per se, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act.
Rivers denies responsibility
Rush Street Gaming has yet to file a legal response to the allegations in the class action lawsuit. Still, when announcing the data breach last month, the company said it had "robust security protocols in place" and took immediate action upon discovery of the incident to "contain the threat and protect our systems."
Rush believes there is "no evidence of financial fraud or identity theft related to this incident." The casino offers free identity monitoring and protection services to those who may have been affected by the data breach.
The casino assists affected individuals to place fraud alerts and security freezes on their credit files and obtain free credit reports. The casino has also set up a dedicated and confidential toll-free number to answer questions about the incident: 866-983-3108.
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Source: www.casino.org
