Adelson websites hacked

Both mainstream and industry media are currently carrying reports of a hack on the Las Vegas Sands websites owned by land gambling billionaire Sheldon Adelson.

Although Adelson is best known in the online gambling industry for his vehemently anti-internet gambling views and actions, it is understood that the assaults on his websites are motivated by his foreign affairs comments and opinions, which are notoriously right wing in nature on Middle Eastern issues.

The hacking attacks Tuesday defaced the company’s websites and posted comments critical of Adelson’s statements on Iran, weapons of mass destruction and nuclear options in the Middle East.

The hack also introduced a scrolling feature depicting personal information, including social security data and email addresses, on employees. A map depicted flames rising from icons positioned over Las Vegas Sands land casino locations in the USA and carried pictures of Adelson with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Some publications claimed that the hacker comments included: “Damn A, don’t let your tongue cut your throat. Encouraging the use of weapons of mass destruction, under any conditions, is a crime.”

Adelson websites in Macau, China and Singapore are understood to have been affected, along with the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania website. Some company e-mails were also not functioning.

The sites were subsequently taken down as IT experts repaired the damage.

Bloomberg business news commented that the attack could represent the first time Adelson’s business empire has felt an impact from his high-profile positions on politics and foreign affairs.

Adelson, an 80-year-old super-wealthy Republican, said in October the U.S. should bomb Iran with a nuclear missile to deter that country’s nuclear ambitions, according to the New York-based Jewish Daily Forward newspaper.

Sands spokesmen said the company is working with law enforcement agencies to identify those responsible for the hack. The company is using internal and external experts to assess the damage and return the systems to full operation.

The Nevada State Gaming Control Board said it will work with Sands to determine the cause of the attack, whilst an FBI spokesperson confirmed the federal organisation was aware of the attack and was “acting appropriately”.

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