By now, the headlines will scarcely surprise anyone. Yet another business has suffered a major data breach. This time, it was Omni Hotels, a luxury hotel chain. The breach, which was discovered on May 30, 2016, began December 23, 2015 and was not completely eradicated from the company’s network until June 14, 2016.
Unfortunately, we do not have any information at this time as to how many customers may have been impacted, nor which specific hotel locations were infected. What we do know is that the malware that was discovered was designed to collect certain credit card payment information, including the name of the cardholder, the credit or debit card number, the security code, and the card’s expiration date. There is presently no evidence that social security numbers or personal identification numbers were at risk.
Given the general lack of information, the best policy is that if you have stayed at any Omni Hotel location is to assume that your card information was compromised and proceed accordingly. Call the company that issued the card and report that it may have been compromised. They’ll issue you a new one. Also review your recent credit card statements for any sign of suspicious activity.
Finally, while you’re in a security frame of mind, consider reviewing your passwords, and be sure that you’re using a different, robust password on every site you log into. If you do anything less, then you open yourself up to identity theft, which can complicate your life in ways you haven’t even dreamed, and take literally years to recover from.
From an enterprise perspective, it’s time once again to ask, “what’s the state of digital security at your firm?” If you don’t know, or aren’t satisfied with your answer, it’s well past time to make a change. If you aren’t sure where to begin, contact a member of our team today. One of our talented and knowledgeable staff members will be in touch shortly, to assist you in any way we can, in order to help ensure that your company’s data is as safe as you can make it.
