Singapore's iconic Marina Bay Sands luxury resort complex recently suffered a data breach that exposed the personal information of over 665,000 customers.
According to a statement from Marina Bay Sands, unauthorized third parties accessed customer data from the resort's Sands Lifestyle loyalty program on October 19th and 20th.
Let’s take a look at what sort of data was compromised and what the resort has done to resolve the issue.
Details of the Data Breach
The compromised data included personally identifiable information such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, countries of residence, membership numbers, and tier levels for over 665,000 non-casino customers.
Marina Bay Sands stated that customer data from its casino rewards program, the Sands Rewards Club, was not affected by the breach.
What the Resort’s Response Has Been
Upon discovering the breach, Marina Bay Sands said it immediately took steps to resolve the issue. The resort has been working with an external cybersecurity firm and notified relevant authorities in Singapore and other applicable countries. It also claims to have taken additional measures to strengthen its systems and protect data.
The company has started informing impacted Sands Lifestyle members about the incident and potential risks on an individual basis.
Stolen Data Could Enable Phishing
The personal information obtained by the unauthorized third parties could potentially be used for phishing campaigns targeting Marina Bay Sands customers. However, the resort stated it has not found evidence of data misuse.
If, however, you feel that you’ve been a victim of this data breach, or any other breach for that matter, then we recommend that you immediately change your passwords. Use an antivirus such as TotalAV. If you receive any links in your email, don’t open them unless you’re sure they’re legit.
We also recommend that you enable two-factor authentication (2FA) and choose more complex passwords in the future.
This breach comes after several other high-profile hotel and casino operators suffered cyber attacks earlier this year. In June, details of over 200 million Caesars Entertainment customers were leaked. MGM Resorts International confirmed a data breach in February impacting over 10 million hotel guests.
Ongoing Investigation
Marina Bay Sands stated it is cooperating with inquiries into the breach by authorities in Singapore and other relevant countries. The resort is also continuing to strengthen its cybersecurity measures.
Cyber attacks will only become more common with time since there’s so much data stored online. The best way to protect your data is to educate yourself about the dangers of phishing and other types of online threats.