When the Trump Hotels chain suffered its second data breach last year, the group was rather slow to issue a public warning. The State of New York is not all too happy about this lackluster approach and fined Trump Hotels US$50,000. The 70,000 users who have their credit card information stolen, however, will not see any additional compensation due to this ordeal.
Credit Card Users Are Always Screwed Royally
The Trump Hotels data breach took place in May of 2015. A large number of guests noticed fraudulent transactions on their credit card statements, which warranted a further investigation. As it turns out, the company was dealing with a massive data breach, as criminals used malware to infiltrate protected systems.
An investigation conducted internally revealed how over 70,000 credit card numbers were obtained by unknown hackers. What is apparently more worrisome – for some people at last – is how Trump Hotels failed to warn the State of New York about this incident. In fact, it took them four full months to put a warning on their site, which is a violation of state law.
As a result of breaking the law, Trump Hotels has been fined US$50,000, which is to be paid to the State of New York. Additionally, the group will need to step up its security policies, although no specific details were provided. It is possible this will fall into the same category as the new guidelines proposed by NYDFS not too long ago.
Customers who are affected by this data breach, however, are the real victims of this data breach. The State of New York does not seem interested in providing these victims with additional support to help them recover stolen funds. Instead, they are more eager to fill their own pockets, which is far from surprising.
Credit card users, especially when they become subject to fraud, are always the ones suffering the most. This is another reason to stop using credit cards altogether and switch to alternative systems. Bitcoin is the perfect replacement, as it puts users in full control at all times. Data breaches would not be an issue either, as there is no sensitive payment information changing hands in the process.
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