Hotels, resorts, and restaurants collect personal data from guests as part of the hospitality services they provide – such as names, addresses, passport details and credit card data – which may lead to identity theft or financial fraud in the form of data breaches.
Cyberattacks pose a real risk to hotels and the hospitality industry as a whole, yet there are steps hoteliers can take to protect both themselves and their guests’ data from these attacks.
Protecting Your Website
Hotel websites are vital components of running a successful business, helping build brand recognition, increase transparency and build trust between guests and your organization. Unfortunately, hotel websites can also be vulnerable to cyberattacks such as phishing; attackers send fake emails or pop-ups containing links leading to malicious sites or malware downloads; as well as DDoS attacks which flood computer systems with traffic; these attacks are especially devastating to hotels as they can result in lost reservations and revenue.
Hotels make lucrative targets for hackers because they collect vast quantities of personal data without adequate protections in place. This leaves them open to everything from hacking and phishing attempts to ransomware attacks. Furthermore, many hotels belong to larger hospitality chains making them more susceptible to breaches at affiliated properties; also hotel chain employees often choose passwords which make accessing systems simpler for hackers who steal the information much simpler.
Hotel cybersecurity strategies must focus on minimizing breaches, protecting sensitive data and implementing proper authentication measures. In addition, staying abreast of emerging cybersecurity trends will help ward off attacks from hackers who use increasingly sophisticated tools against businesses.
Implement a secure system for collecting and transmitting credit-card data to protect yourself against costly fines and to build customer trust, and to ensure all employees in your hotel comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards.
As hotels increasingly rely on third-party services for managing online bookings and operations, this final point becomes even more essential. Doing so exposes them to hackers; therefore it’s vitally important that their provider takes security seriously and has adequate resources available to protect customer data.
Staff members are often the first line of defense against cybersecurity threats, but they must know what to look out for. This means being aware of phishing attacks and other social engineering methods used by attackers; setting up two-step verification for all accounts; regularly changing passwords and conducting regular training sessions with all staff. This was especially helpful during pandemic outbreaks when hotels needed temps and part-timers to fill positions quickly.
Encrypting Your Data
As a hotel, it is your duty to protect the personal data of your guests from hackers. This requires having strong firewalls, up-to-date antivirus software, and other measures in place that protect customer data from cyber attackers. Furthermore, an early warning system must also be in place so you can respond swiftly should an attack happen and minimise potential damages caused by it.
Alongside installing these systems, it is also imperative that your employees are informed about cybersecurity. By staying up-to-date on current threats and providing them with updates about how best to avoid mistakes that compromise data for your hotel or business, employees will be better equipped to recognize phishing emails posing as legitimate sources but contain malicious links or attachments. Regular cybersecurity training sessions can ensure staff is ready to deal with new attacks while becoming familiar with your data privacy policies.
Hotel staff should also be wary of the risks they face when using public Wi-Fi, as cyber criminals take full advantage of it. They may use fake versions of your hotel’s Wi-Fi to intercept unencrypted network traffic and steal data – this type of attack is known as man-in-the-middle and it’s especially prevalent at hotels with insecure wireless networks.
Hotel cybersecurity risks increase by relying on third-party vendors for point-of-sale (POS) transactions that expose them to credit card fraud. Because these attacks fall under third-party crime, rather than targeting the hotel directly; instead they expose weaknesses in vendor systems.
Hotels are also often targeted by attacks that seek to collect and sell guest information for financial gain, including identity theft, credit card fraud and other types of financial misconduct. Point-of-sale attacks pose the greatest danger for hotels as these attacks directly target systems where credit card transactions take place.
Hospitality industry workers tend to come and go quickly, leading to high worker turnover rates and inability to provide proper training on data security procedures for new hires. This leaves your hotel vulnerable to cyber attacks or security breaches unless stringent security regulations and ongoing training for staff is put into place to make sure everyone understands how best to handle sensitive customer information while upholding privacy standards at your hotel.
Keeping Up With the Latest Security Trends
As cyberattacks become more sophisticated and steal more data, hoteliers must constantly upgrade their cybersecurity systems in response. Furthermore, they should train staff on how to protect both software and data within their hotel – this will not only keep hackers at bay, but will ensure everyone understands potential risks and how best to address them.
Data breaches can be devastating for any business, but for hotels it can be especially catastrophic. Not only can they break customer trust but they can also cause lasting reputational damage that often costs hotels millions in losses due to even just one breach.
Hotel information security has become an increasing focus for both hotel consumers and operators alike. According to a joint report by Skift and Oracle Hospitality, 56% of travelers expressed their disquiet with hotels’ handling of their personal data and privacy protection measures, prompting many hospitality firms to invest more heavily in data protection measures and take security more seriously.
Hospitality businesses are particularly susceptible to cyber attacks such as DDoS attacks and phishing scams, often used as distractions while the perpetrators steal sensitive data or shut down IT systems. Furthermore, widespread interconnected technology in hotel rooms makes it easy for attackers to gain entry to multiple systems at once.
As hospitality employees typically have limited security training, they are more vulnerable to phishing scams and other user-oriented attacks. During the pandemic, this was further compounded when many hotels needed to rely on temporary workers instead of full-time employees for full staff coverage. It is imperative that each member of a hotel’s staff takes their roles in protecting data and software seriously.
The best way to protect against security breaches is limiting who has access to sensitive information both online and at a hotel property. This can be accomplished through identity and access management solutions as well as providing employees with training on recognizing suspicious emails or threats, along with updating software regularly in order to patch any vulnerabilities discovered.
Keeping Your Customers’ Information Safe
Hotels make data protection a top priority, and for good reason: they collect and store sensitive guest information like credit card numbers, contact details, medical histories and medical histories of their guests – making them prime targets for hackers who seek out sensitive data like credit card details to commit cyberattacks against hotels ranging from phishing attacks and malware downloads through DDoS attacks and ransomware – but there are ways that hoteliers can reduce these risks and ensure customer data stays secure.
As the first step in breach prevention, training your staff on how to identify and report breaches is essential. Furthermore, keeping systems updated and patched as well as conducting regular risk analyses is also key. Limit access to sensitive data by installing firewalls, end-to-end encryption or restricting permissions as part of an overall access management strategy; additionally a strong response plan must be created so any breaches can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.
One of the most dangerous hacker tactics is known as Man-in-the-Middle attacks, in which attackers intercept unencrypted data that’s traveling between hotels and payment processors and steal it en route, potentially leading to stolen credit cards, identities and accounts. Another common tactic called tailgating involves criminals physically following guests into secure areas within hotels in order to gain access to their devices and information.
Other attacks include phishing, which uses fake emails to trick people into clicking malicious links or providing their personal data. Baiting is another social engineering tactic where criminals offer something of value in exchange for taking certain actions, like transferring money or sharing passwords. Watering hole attacks are another means by which cybercriminals can gain entry to your hotel website and infiltrate guest devices with malware.
Hotels provide an ideal target for cyber attacks due to the vast amounts of sensitive data they store, but not all hotels are equally susceptible. Independent properties may be more vulnerable; larger hotel chains should ensure their cybersecurity systems are strong to prevent data breaches which would prove costly for them in terms of reputational damage and lost revenues.