Twenty Major US Hotels Affected By Card Stealing Malware

Using a credit or debit card in the United States is asking for trouble these days. A large hotel chain in the US has been infected with malware which steals payment card information. Among the affected hotels are Hyatt, Marriott, and Intercontinental locations. Point-of-sale devices have been affected by this malware attack, although criminals did not obtain any PIN codes.

More US Hotels Infected By POS Malware

It is not the first, nor the last time US hotels will have to deal with

malware attacks. Point of sale device manufacturers uses outdated software which is riddled with security holes. It only takes a few attempts by criminals to exploit these vulnerabilities and steal payment card information from these devices.

So far, 20 different hotels have been confirmed to be infected with this POS malware. For now, the breach has allegedly been contained, and future card payments should not be affected by this attack vector. Then again, one never knows for sure whether or not hackers still have backdoor access to these machines.

Anyone who stayed at a major hotel in the US between March 2015 and June 2016 should keep a very close eye on their credit card statements. The majority of malware was found in POS terminals located at hotels, bars, shops, and other facilities. A similar incident affected the Trump Hotel chain earlier this year.



Related Post

It will be impossible to track down who obtained this information, or when it was used. Since the HEI Hotels and Resorts chain does not store payment data for its customers, it has no clue who may be affected by this malware. Nor do they have any idea as to how many customers may have had their details stolen. A very worrisome turn of events indeed.

One could argue the EMV security measures should prevent card details from being stolen in the first place. While that is certainly true, the majority of US card transactions are still swiped. Magstripe cards need to be removed completely, as they make it far too easy for criminals to obtain sensitive payment information.

Image credit 1

If you liked this article follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin and altcoin price analysis and the latest cryptocurrency news.

JP Buntinx

JP Buntinx is a FinTech and Bitcoin enthusiast living in Belgium. His passion for finance and technology made him one of the world's leading freelance Bitcoin writers, and he aims to achieve the same level of respect in the FinTech sector.

Share
Published by
JP Buntinx

Recent Posts

Aptos (APT) and Tron (TRX) Prices Slide, As Volume Soars For Rollblock Suggesting Parabolic Rally

As Aptos and Tron prices take a recent downturn, the spotlight shifts to Rollblock, whose…

4 hours ago

Altcoins to Watch in November: Binance Coin (BNB), Rollblock (RBLK), and Neiro (NEIRO)

As the crypto markets roll into their most bullish time of year, we present three…

4 hours ago

Analysts Forecast $1 for Cardano and Lunex Network As Dogwifhat Plunges To Former Lows

As the crypto market prepares for a major rally, experts believe that two top altcoins,…

4 hours ago

Retail Traders Panic Sell During ‘Fake Dip’; Whales Hold Tight to SOL, DTX, and SHIB for a Millionaire-Maker Bull Run

Solana (SOL): A Strong Ecosystem Despite Volatility Solana (SOL) has been all over the place…

5 hours ago

Llama 3.2 Predicts Price For Dogecoin: $2 Peak By 2025 And $5 Rally For DTX Exchange This Winter

Cryptocurrency trends are keen on the forecast that was recently released by Llama 3.2 model…

5 hours ago

Crypto Whale Sparks 8x Surge In $OPK Price with Massive Buy-in

A mysterious crypto whale, who previously invested 9,600 SOL into tokens $Pnut and $FRED, has…

7 hours ago