Why “Have a Safe Trip” Is Taking On Greater Meaning

Have a safe trip! Typically, when we wish someone well before they leave on a journey we are referring to their physical safety while in transit. But, increasingly, there’s another consideration – their online security.

Over the past year, compromises of payment card data from Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, network intrusions against third-party suppliers, and cyber espionage campaigns against visitors using hotel Wi-Fi networks have plagued the travel and hospitality industries. In the spirit of “forewarned is forearmed,” let’s take a closer look at some of the most notable examples of each of these types of threats and how firms in these industries can mitigate risk.

POS attacks:

Financially-motivated actors seeking to compromise payment card details use malware to extract this data from POS systems or devices as well as physical skimming devices. Based on the 20 POS malware variants that have been documented and numerous reports of breaches, the travel and hospitality industries have been under siege. In the last six months alone a new variant, MajikPOS, and modifications to the RawPOS variant and the Zeus banking trojan targeting POS systems, have emerged. Since August 2016, POS attacks have reportedly affected 37 Best American Hospitality Corporation restaurants, 62 Kimpton hotel locations and an unknown number of Chipotle Mexican Grill locations. Threat actors focused on these industries include FIN7, TA530 and Vendetta Brothers who each use a range of tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs).