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5 Things To Know for Sept. 15

Today's Headlines: Hackers Claim 6-Terabyte Heist from MGM Resorts, Caesars; Hurricane Lee Expected To Make US, Canada Landfall Saturday; How NLRB Decision on Union Elections Affects Hoteliers; IRS Pauses Processing Pandemic Tax Credit Claims; US Weekly Jobless Claims Rise Slightly
Hacking group the Scattered Spider has claimed to have stolen six terabytes worth of data from MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment. (CoStar)
Hacking group the Scattered Spider has claimed to have stolen six terabytes worth of data from MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment. (CoStar)
Hotel News Now
September 15, 2023 | 2:43 P.M.

Editor's Note: Some linked articles may be behind subscription paywalls.

1. Hackers Claim 6-Terabyte Heist from MGM Resorts, Caesars

The hacking group Scattered Spider claims it stole six terabytes worth of data from MGM Resorts International and Caears Entertainment, Reuters reports. The hacking group said it does not plan to make the data public and would not say whether it sought a ransom.

The hacking group has become known for its use of social engineering to gain access to a company's systems, specifically by contacting its targets' tech security teams by phone and pretending to be an employee who needs a password reset, the news agency reports. Caesars has said this breach is the result of a social engineering attack on an IT vendor that Caesars uses.

2. Hurricane Lee Expected To Make US, Canada Landfall Saturday

Meteorologists expect Hurricane Lee to make landfall Saturday near the border of the U.S. and Canada, the Wall Street Journal reports. The now Category 1 hurricane will create storm surges, large waves and riptides along the East Coast of the U.S. until then.

The storm could drop between 1 and 4 inches of rain over parts of New England, creating localized inland flooding. Canada’s Maritime Provinces could see waves up to 20 to 30 feet high. Winds will push seawater inland, with storm surges between 2 and 4 feet expected for Cape Cod and Nantucket, Massachusetts, and 1 to 3 feet for Boston Harbor. The entire coast of Long Island is forecast to see 1 to 3 feet of flooding.

3. How NLRB Decision on Union Elections Affects Hoteliers

In a podcast interview with HNN, labor attorney and partner at Fisher Phillips Mike Carrouth said the National Labor Relations Board's decision regarding union elections and bargaining orders changes the landscape, reports HNN's Bryan Wroten. Employers will need to be more careful to avoid unfair labor practices as actions that would have resulted in having to rerun an election will now end with a bargaining order.

Click here to listen to the interview.

4. IRS Pauses Processing Pandemic Tax Credit Claims

The IRS will halt the processing of new refund requests made for the pandemic-era employee retention credit over concerns of fraud, the Wall Street Journal reports. It will also apply greater scrutiny to its existing list of more than 600,000 claims.

Congress created the ERC in 2020 to push companies to keep employees during the pandemic, the newspaper reports. Refunds accelerated after business closures ended, however, and the cost of the credit has exceeded expectations.

The tax agency is allowing employers with existing requests to withdraw them and repay refunds if they think they no longer qualify, according to the article.

5. US Weekly Jobless Claims Rise Slightly

The U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial jobless claims for the week ending Sept. 9 rose by 3,000 to 220,000, according to the Associated Press. The four-week moving average dropped by 5,000 to 224,500.

The U.S. economy has added about 236,000 jobs per month this year on average, the AP reports.

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