Malware hits 20 major hotels, customer data may be stolen

As many as 20 hotels in the US have been hit by malware, and fears are spreading that customer data, including credit card information, was stolen.

According to a Reuters report, hotels under attack include Starwood, Marriott, Hyatt and Intercontinental -- all part of the HEI Hotels & Restaurants.

The malware was developed specifically to target it and collect credit card data from its systems. The malware was found two months ago, on payment systems used all over these hotels -- in restaurants, bars, lobbies, and spas.

The number of people affected is hard to estimate, as many people used their credit cards more than once. However, there were some 8,000 transactions at the Hyatt Centric Santa Barbara hotel in California, as well as 12,800 at the IHG Intercontinental in Tampa, Florida, during this period.

A total of 12 Starwood hotels were affected, six Marriott Internationals, one Hyatt Hotel and one InterContinental Hotels Group, with the malware being in operation from March 1 2015, to June 21, 2016. Fourteen hotels were infected during December last year.

Federal authorities have been alarmed, and a new payment system installed. Here is a list of all the hotels affected: Starwood’s Westin hotels in Minneapolis; Pasadena, California; Philadelphia; Snowmass, Colorado; Washington, D.C.; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Also affected were Starwood properties in Arlington, Virginia; Manchester Village, Vermont; San Francisco; Miami; and Nashville, Tennessee. Marriott properties in Boca Raton, Florida; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Chicago; San Diego, California; and Minneapolis.

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