Online attacks are frightening, whether they occur in public or on a private computer. Hotel computers put users at a high risk of online crimes.
It can take days, weeks, months, and even years to recover from an online attack or crime, such as identity theft. Unfortunately, the more people use computers and the internet, the more vulnerable they are to such crimes. Although these attacks occur at home, public computers and networks pose a high risk for people who are using them. Such attacks can be carried out in a matter of minutes, leaving the victim to try to recover what has been lost. Hotels are frequent targets for online criminals, with identity theft being one of the most commonly occurring crimes in hotels around the world. Fortunately, there are steps to take to stay safe while staying in a hotel.
Online Attacks
Online attacks, or cyber crimes, can cause a lot of damage in a short period of time. Although identity theft may be one of the most common and malicious of online attacks, others may occur, as well. Common examples of online attacks and crimes include worms, viruses, bots, hacking, and malware. According to the FBI, these attacks can cause billions of dollars in damage and losses during a year. Criminals work by secretly gaining access to a person's laptop, personal computer, and wireless device. As more and more people are connected to a wireless network, the possibilities for online criminals begin to expand.
Some of these attacks cause smaller scale damage, while others are more widespread. For example, an attack can be carried out by a computer geek who is simply looking for some bragging rights among his or her friends. Other attacks are the result of a business that is trying to gain a leg up on its competitors by stealing or "borrowing" crucial information from another company's website. Some attacks are designed to take out an entire system, such as a hospital network or a bank network. In other cases, crime rings are formed to try to obtain personal information from unsuspecting individuals to sell on the black market.
Hotel Cyber Crimes
Hotels have a large number of visitors each day, and many modern hotels have their own networks and computers for guests to use. While this is certainly convenient for guests, it also presents a big security risk for computer users and the entire hotel network. Many people unknowingly provide crucial personal information to thieves, allowing them to fall victim to crimes such as identity theft. In other instances, a group may work together to take down a hotel's network, or to gain vital information such as data from the network.
One example is a data breach case that happened in 2004 in Annapolis, Maryland. In this case, a group of criminals targeted a national hotel branch and, with the help of an associate who applied for and obtained a front desk position at the hotel, they soon had access to the hotel's most important information. In just a matter of weeks, the group caused a lot of damage. They charged around $850,000 to credit card accounts they obtained from the hotel's accounting records. During this time, credit cards were charged anywhere from $10,000 to $18,000 each.
The group was eventually caught when a guest noticed unusual activity and charges on his credit card account. Soon afterwards, many people who had previously stayed at the hotel noticed the same thing and called to inquire about the charges. In the end, approximately 50 people were affected by the crime. It wasn't long until the police were brought in, followed by the Secret Service.
Another high profile case was the Destination Hotels case, which involved hundreds of people. By the time the investigation had concluded on this case, it was determined that over 700 people were victimized. These guests had their credit card information stolen, and a handful noticed unusual charges after their hotel stay. Other noteworthy breaches include the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles, which notified their guests that their credit card data may have been stolen between April and December 2009. Wyndham Hotels reported three breaches within a 12 month span.
Security and Online Attacks
As these high profile cases show, sometimes companies learn the hard way how important it is to protect personal information from attackers. One lesson that many learned was the importance of computer protection. Many of these attacks could have been prevented with adequate protection. For example, site monitoring services such as ScrapeSentry provide a good defense against malicious acts.
Other important considerations include properly training hotel employees. Examples include refraining from announcing a guest's name and room number at the front desk or during check-in. It is also crucial to remind guests to never leave important papers in places where they could be easily seen. Hotel staff should ensure there are no leaks within their system.
Online crimes can be a threat to public safety. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize or even prevent such attacks from occurring. As these high profile cases show, it is best not to find out the hard way how to keep the public safe from attacks.
