Information from 5.2 million guests of the Marriott Hotel had their personal information accessed after hackers broke into the guest services application using login credentials of two Marriott employees.
Rosemary O’Neill, Director of Customer Delivery for NuData Security, a Mastercard company says, “It is unfortunate that Marriott was hit again. In a time when travel companies are seeing their traffic go down, bad actors can still use the stolen information against other companies where those same customers transact. This news needs to remind merchants and other companies transacting online that their systems are never entirely safe from breaches, brute force attacks, account takeovers, and phishing attacks. These can happen at any time, and companies need to have their post-breach process ready.
This plan includes the implementation of a stronger verification framework so they can still correctly authenticate their good users despite the use of potentially stolen credentials. This sort of data exposure is why so many organizations – from the hospitality sector through to eCommerce companies, financial institutions, and major retailers – are layering in advanced security solutions, such as passive biometrics and behavioral analytics. These technologies identify customers by their online behavior, thus mitigating post-breach damage as hackers are not able to impersonate individual behavior.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
