Following a recent cybersecurity attack that impacted 48 of its 60 hotels in North America, new Omni Hotels & Resorts CIO Ken Barnes has spoken out on plans to improve the defence for Omni’s payment processing systems.
Analytics could play a crucial part in new protection, detecting anomalous behaviour suggesting that a hacker has entered or is trying to enter the hotel firm’s computer network.
Malware attack
“I want to make sure that we have our perimeter set up and that we have people watching that perimeter to protect us,” Barnes told CIO.com.
Omni discovered the intrusion on 30 May 2016, whereby hackers, through installed malware on point-of-sale systems, had been able to steal payment information from
In a statement on its website, Omni said: “We recently became aware of a malware intrusion that affected some point of sale systems at certain Omni hotels. Promptly after discovering the issue, we immediately engaged leading IT investigation and security firms to determine the facts, and we have now contained the intrusion.
“Protecting the security of our customers’ personal information is a top priority for Omni. We value and respect the privacy of your information, and we sincerely apologize for any concern or inconvenience this may cause you.”
Hotels a favourite amongst hackers
US hotel chains have been in the news a lot recently due to cyberattacks. In the past
Edited from sources by Cecilia Rehn.
Sources:
CIO.com
Omni Hotels
NBC News
