As the leading global trade association for hotel technology, HTNG is helping its members take steps to make hotels less attractive to the hackers. According to a research report from Trustwave1, hotels and resorts accounted for 38% of the victims of reported data security breaches in 2009. European hotels, despite the additional security provided by Chip and PIN, are far from immune to these attacks.

The session, entitled “Fighting the Credit Card Thieves,” will address the specifics of this frightening development in detail: what is happening, how bad it is, how the thieves work, and what hoteliers can do to stop them. The panel of experts will share information about the nature of the breaches and what card associations are doing to reduce the attacks. They will also share tips on what hotels can do to protect their systems. “We are looking forward to all of the sessions we have planned for our members, but I think this one could have the greatest immediate impact to the industry. It is part of the industry-leading role that HTNG is taking in joining with other industry associations to help hotels provide a more secure environment for using guest credit-card data,” said Douglas Rice, Executive Vice President and CEO of HTNG.

The team assembled for the hotel data security session includes:

• Joanne Laffey, Senior Compliance Manager, Visa Europe
• Shane Balfe, Technical Manager, Payment System Security, Visa Europe
• Scott Lancaster, Senior Director, Information Security and Technology Compliance, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide
• Benjamin Hosack, Director, Foregenix Ltd.

Attendees will gain a better understanding of how the attacks occur and what hotels can do to make themselves less vulnerable.