Several websites operated by Las Vegas Sands have been hacked in an apparent show of anger toward company CEO Sheldon Adelson‘s (pictured) inflammatory remarks regarding the use of nuclear weapons.

On Tuesday morning, visitors to the Venetian and Palazzo websites were greeted with an error message, while those accessing the Sands corporate site or its properties in Macau and Pennsylvania were shown a map of the globe with icons of fire placed in the locations of Sands properties. The image also included a picture of a smiling Adelson, who is a staunch supporter of Israel, standing next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

More worryingly, the culprits gained access to sensitive company data and scrolled Sands’ employee names along with their Social Security numbers in the middle of the page. “It’s freaking me out,” cage cashier Joshua Cesanek told The Morning Call. “I can monitor my bank account and credit cards, but how do I monitor my Social Security number? Am I going to have to worry about this for years?”

Also displayed was a message reading, “Damn A, Don’t let your tongue cut your throat… Encouraging the Use of Weapons of Mass Instruction, Under Any Condition, Is a Crime.” The statement likely refers to a speech made by Adelson last year in New York in which he suggested that the United States drop a nuclear bomb in the Iranian desert to demonstrate its fierce opposition to the country’s nuclear program. According to Adelson, the bomb would “not hurt a soul, except for a few rattlesnakes.”

The hack has also raised fears that customer information such as credit card records could have been accessed. “While we have been able to confirm that certain core operating systems were not impacted by the hacking, the company remains focused on working through a step-by-step process to ascertain what, if any, additional systems may have been impacted,” said spokesman Ron Reese.

While the company works to restore its online presence, it has also begun to work with the FBI and Secret Service to try to uncover the perpetrators behind the attack. The Nevada Gaming Control Board has also launched an investigation to determine if Sands’ security systems were up to snuff with state regulations.

The intrusion has done more damage than simply put up a banner in protest of Adelson’s comments. Along with rendering the websites inaccessible, company mail systems have been knocked offline and employees have been unable to log into their work accounts.

Adelson is well known for his fiery personality and taking strong stances on issues about which he feels passionate. The 80-year-old has recently kicked off a campaign to put a halt to online gaming in the US, organizing the Coalition to Stop Internet Gamblingand promising to spend “whatever it takes” to make the industry illegal.

The image uploaded by the hackers has now been removed, but as of Friday, the websites remain unusable. Visitors now see a message stating that “the website is undergoing maintenance” along with phone numbers for each of the Sands’ properties.

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