Attendees of a hacker convention in Las Vegas have accused Resorts World staff of harassment. The annual DEF CON convention, which attracts thousands of hackers, took place last week at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Many attendees stayed at Resorts World Las Vegas, but they complained of being treated like criminals by security.
In notices shared on social media, the casino-hotel warned guests of “room checks on all stay over rooms” in the block reserved for DEF CON attendees. Guests shared stories of harassment by security staff, with some feeling that their privacy was being invaded. One attendee, Korvin Szanto, mentioned that security did not seem to know what they were looking for during room checks. Another attendee, Chandler Emhoff, felt that Resorts World was stereotyping convention attendees as criminals.
Negative experiences were also shared on forums like Hacker News, with one attendee reporting that security demanded their ID and threatened to have them arrested for trespassing. This treatment led some attendees to vow not to stay at Resorts World again unless they received a sincere apology.
While attendees felt mistreated, Las Vegas casinos have reason to be cautious around hackers. Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International were victims of cyberattacks last year, with Caesars paying $15m to regain control of its systems. MGM fell victim to a similar hack shortly after, costing the company around $100m and giving hackers access to customer data.
Experts believe these hacks were the result of cooperation between young, western hackers and Russian cybersecurity experts. The FBI has identified Scattered Spider, a hacker organization specializing in social engineering attacks, and BlackCat, a Russian group providing ransomware as a service, as the culprits behind the attacks.
In conclusion, attendees of the DEF CON convention in Las Vegas felt mistreated by Resorts World staff, but the caution exhibited by Las Vegas casinos towards hackers is understandable given recent cyberattacks on major establishments in the city. The collaboration between young hackers and Russian cyber experts highlights the need for increased cybersecurity measures in the industry.