US hotel chain Hilton on Tuesday revealed that hackers infected some of its point-of-sale computer systems with malware crafted to steal credit card information.
Hilton would not disclose whether data was taken, but advised anyone who used payment cards at Hilton Worldwide hotels between Nov. 18 and Dec. 5 last year, or between April 21 and July 27, to watch for irregular activity on credit or debit card accounts.
Malicious code that infected registers at hotels had the potential to take cardholders’ names along with card numbers, security codes and expiration dates, Hilton said in an online post.
Hilton said that it is investigating the breach with the help of third-party forensics experts, law enforcement and payment card companies.
The announcement came just four days after Starwood Hotels, which operates the Sheraton and Westin chains, said that hackers had infected payment systems in some of its establishments, potentially leaking customer credit card data.
The hack occurred at a “limited number” of its hotels in North America, according to Starwood, whose other well-known chains include St Regis and W Hotels.
Starwood said that an investigation by forensic experts concluded that malware was detected in some restaurants, gift shops and other points of sale systems at hotels.
“The malware was designed to collect certain payment card information, including cardholder name, payment card number, security code and expiration date,” the group said in a statement.
The cyberattacks on Hilton and Starwood sounded similar to one disclosed last month by Trump Hotel Collection.
“We believe that there may have been unauthorized malware access to some of the computers that host our front desk terminals and payment card terminals in our restaurants, gift shops and other point-of-sale purchase locations at some hotels,” Trump Hotel Collection said.
The access might have taken place between May 19 last year and June 2 this year, Trump Hotel Collection said.
Locations affected were listed as Trump SoHo New York, Trump National Doral, Trump International New York, Trump International Chicago, Trump International Waikiki, Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas and Trump International Toronto.
An independent forensic investigation did not turn up evidence that customer information was removed, but not was provided by Trump hotels in “an abundance of caution,” according to Trump hotels.
Data targeted by the malware appeared to include account numbers, card expiration dates and security codes.
Cyberthreats blogger Brian Krebs at KrebsonSecurity.com placed fault on slow adoption in the US of encrypted chip technology on payment cards that provide more protection for data than magnetic strips.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last