The travel industry has been vastly impacted by the global pandemic, but there is a simultaneous threat that has been lingering for years and doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. Hotels, airlines and any other businesses that have to do with the travel industry are storing massive amounts of personal data. As a result, hospitality companies are often targeted by hackers.
For example, Marriott was hacked twice in just a 16-month period before the pandemic. The result was that information for about 500 million hotel guests was leaked in the first breach and another 5.2 million in the second. It was one of the largest data breaches in history. That’s not a world record that companies are striving to break. What are some of the biggest threats to your hospitality company’s cybersecurity? Here are some common threats that companies have reported:
- Phishing scams – Phishing scams are just what the name sounds like (even though it is spelled differently). The hackers send out scam emails as bait. When your employee clicks, the scammer scoops up their login credentials, and now they have access to your data. In fact, the 2018 breach at Marriott was facilitated by a phishing scam that acquired the login info for two employees.
- Insider threats – whether the theft results from malicious intent or sheer carelessness on the part of an employee, the consequences can be equally unpleasant.
- Pandemic scams – hackers have stepped up their game during the pandemic, so it is more essential than ever to watch out for scammers.
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