{"id":4328,"date":"2021-06-16T13:36:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-16T12:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardonet.com\/news\/?p=4328"},"modified":"2021-12-21T18:53:40","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T18:53:40","slug":"hotel-cybersecurity-are-you-prepared","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardonet.com\/news\/hotel-cybersecurity-are-you-prepared\/","title":{"rendered":"Hotel Cybersecurity: Are you prepared?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since hotel companies first encountered the pandemic early last year there has been a sharp spike in sophisticated and varied cyber threats and attacks. The goal for cybercriminals is to gain access (through attacks such as SPAM and phishing) and take control of your business-critical data (ransomware) while disrupting your operations, putting your business and the sensitive data (names, emails, addresses, bank details etc.) you hold at risk. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is critical, now more so than ever before, to ensure you have a strong cyber security strategy in place to protect your hotel, team and customers. With an ever-changing threat landscape, you may find your business at the centre of daily attacks and without the proper IT infrastructure and cyber security awareness, your business runs the risk of becoming another statistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But why are hotels the primary target for cyber-attacks?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cybercriminals don’t break into empty cloud vaults<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It goes without saying if your business did not hold anything of value, hotels would not appear as such a hot commodity for these perpetrators to focus on and attack. According to a Mimecast study, email threats increased by 64% in 2020 and 79% of organisations were affected<\/strong> by their lack of cyber security preparedness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, it is beneficial to assume that a cyberattack WILL and CAN happen to your business at any moment. While this notion can seem alarming that is exactly the mindset we want more hotel operators to adopt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working with you to develop an awareness of the common attacks hotels similar to yours face can help you to feel more secure and better prepared that once an issue arises, your hotel will be armed to defend itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top 3 cyberattacks faced by hotels<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Phishing attacks<\/strong> – Considering the amount of emails your hotel sends and receives on a daily basis we can guarantee that you will have received a phishing email at some point this week or even today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typically, what happens is that cybercriminals will do their very best to convince you, a member of your team, or customer, they can be trusted and encourage you or them to share personal data including bank details and passwords. Once the data has effectively been \u2018stolen\u2019 retrieving it can be a difficult, lengthy and stressful process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We would highly recommend learning and educating your team to recognise the signs of a phishing attack<\/a> which can include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n