Cyber Criminals Turn Attention Towards the Hospitality Sector

Security company Trustwave have warned that the crime group Carbanak, who were behind the theft of more than $1 billion from banks in 2015, are now planning attacks on hospitality businesses. 

The Chicago-based company have been investigating recent attacks on three hospitality businesses, including one US restaurant group, and director of global incident readiness, Brian Hussey, believes the attacks will soon spread elsewhere. 

He said: "So far the attacks have mainly been in North America, but it is spreading to Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia. It's one of the most active campaigns I've seen since I started in the business."

Hussey explained the main way the group were attacking businesses was by calling reception staff and claiming they're unable to use the online booking system, and then sending an email with attachment that contains a compromised link. 

Once clicked, malware is activated which can steal customers' credit card details, search email addresses, explore more of the network, and potentially disable systems. 

Hussey added that while the threat was concerning, there are ways that businesses can protect themselves: "The Human link is often the weakest, so training, especially for anyone directly dealing with the public is crucial, because they (the criminals) are convincing."