Data breaches in hospitality: is the industry different?

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to expand on the existing literature by specifically examining data security incidents within the hospitality industry, assessing origins and causes, comparing breaches within the industry with those of other industries and identifying areas of concern. Design/methodology/approach A sample of data breach incidents is drawn from the Verizon VERIS Community Database (VCDB). Statistical comparisons between hospitality and non-hospitality industry firms are conducted following the Verizon A4 threat framework. Findings The results reveal that breaches between hospitality and non-hospitality firms differ significantly in terms of actors, actions, assets and attributes. Specifically, proportions of breaches in the hospitality industry are larger in terms of external actors, hacking and malware, user devices compromised and integrity violations. Additionally, compared to other industries, point-of-sales (POS) system breaches occur at a higher rate in the hospitality industry. The study finds that company size, hacking and malware predict the likelihood of a POS breach. Research limitations/implications The study uses secondary data and does not include the entire universe of data breaches. Originality/value In the quest to reduce data breach incidents, it is imperative to identify and assess the nature of data breach incidents between industries. Doing so permits the development of targeted industry-specific solutions rather than generic ones. This study systematically identifies differences between hospitality and non-hospitality data security incidents and then suggests areas where hospitality companies should focus future attention to mitigate breach incidents.

The Cybersecurity Applied by Online Travel Agencies and Hotels to Protect Users’ Private Data in Smart Cities

“…Another aspect to be highlighted is that in the total cyberattacks that occurred in the period examined, hackers or cybercriminals illegally accessed payment transactions and users' credit card numbers in 22 cyberattacks, especially in data breach attacks. These data confirm the previous findings of Gwebu and Barrows [112] and Wang et al [113], which revealed that data breaches are becoming more common and publicised in travel and hospitality sectors [114]. For instance, a data breach in a marketing company that manages the advertising, promotion, and marketing practices of McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Shell, Asus, hotels, and OTAs' websites had dire consequences not only for the firms involved but also for users' privacy.…”

Digital security of the hotel brand

“…The increase in demand for information from all parties (hotel brands, their customers and stakeholders) has drawn attention and raised concerns about security, as noted by many of the scientific studies we reviewed (Arcuri et al, 2020;Gwebu & Barrows, 2020;Ncubukezi, 2022) The digital dependency created by online communications facilitates attackers to exploit vulnerabilities in every sector (Kalamkar & Prasad, 2022), including the operation of hotel brands. Therefore, the determinant of the cyber security of a hotel brand is its internal business processes and communication platforms.…”

Comparative study of personal data protection regulations in Indonesia, Hong Kong and Malaysia

“…Data breaches could lead to the misuse of personal data for various evil purposes including fraud, theft, bank account break-ins, unsolicited promotion of products and privacy violations (Gashami et al , 2019; Gwebu and Barrows, 2020; Holtfreter and Harrington, 2015; Schatz and Bashroush, 2016). One of the examples of the case is the one that occurred on October 5, 2020.…”