Destination Hotels card processing system breached

When it comes to cyber attacks and breaches, the hospitality industry has been the most heavily targeted industry in 2009. The reason behind this increased criminal activity targeting hotels and hotel chains is the sheer amount of credit card information floating around those systems and the fact that the hospitality industry wasn’t such a big target two years ago, which resulted in weaker system security.

The Radisson breach was the most publicized case of data breach in the industry – probably due to the sheer size of the chain.

But smaller chains have also been successfully hit, and the latest data breach incident happened to the payment processing system of Destination Hotels & Resorts, an upscale chain that holds some 30 hotels and resorts throughout the U.S.

According to Computerworld, credit card information of recent guests of 21 of the chain’s hotels may have been compromised by a scheme that targeted point-of-safe systems. Refusing to give out much information because of an ongoing FBI investigation, the chain issued a press release that says simply that a “malicious software program inserted into its credit card processing system from a remote source” was found.

“The breach appears to have been isolated to locations where credit cards were physically swiped. Internet, phone and other transactions appear not to have been compromised,” says in the release. Guests that may have been affected are being notified of the breach and advised on steps to take to make sure they are safe.