July 14, 2010
-
News: Hotels #1 On Hackers Favorite Places to Visit
When it comes to credit card safety, a recent study conducted by SpiderLabs found that it wasn't with the hotel industry. In breaking down credit card hacking incidents by industry, the study found that the hotel industry was involved in 38 percent of the hacking cases that occurred in 2009. The number was double that of the financial industry which was 19 percent. The retail industry was connected to 14.2 percent and the restaurant and bar industry was at 13 percent. Experts say that hotels have become more vulnerable to credit card thieves because their security systems are not as sophisticated as other industries and there's a great deal more money involved. The report also said that nearly every organization has begun to take steps in developing more secure systems; however, many overlook some simple threats.
Although the data on the percentage of security breaches on hotel system is alarming, the full extent of the cost of credit card fraud as a result is unknown. Just a few weeks ago, Destination Hotels and Resorts, one of the U.S. more prominent hotel chains experience a security breach and was forced to notify customers that their credit cards had been compromised. In that incident, ABC News reported that the breach could cost anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000 for each of the 700 cards compromised. Wyndham Hotels also sent customers a notice telling them about a security breach of their system which involved as many as 31 hotels over a three month period.
Hotel security systems have also become a favorite of credit card thieves because it can often take months before anyone is aware that there has been a security breach. Furthermore, many of the regular travelers are on the road a great deal of the time not allowing them much time to continuously monitor their accounts. Lenders have also become increasingly more concerned about the vulnerability of hotel security systems and have begun putting more pressure on hotel chains to adopt new security standards.