Customer data breach at 250 Hyatt hotels including those in London, Paris, Shanghai
PUBLISHED : Friday, 15 January, 2016, 6:11pm
UPDATED : Friday, 15 January, 2016, 7:01pm
Reuters
Grand-Hyatt Shanghai Jin Mao Tower.
Hyatt Hotels Corp said a previously reported malware attack to steal payment card data affected 250 hotels between August 13 and December 8.
The hotel operator listed affected locations worldwide and the period when they were at risk, on its website.
“We do not know the number of customers affected at this time,” company spokeswoman Stephanie Sheppard said in an email.
Hyatt said on Thursday it identified unauthorised access to data on cards used at certain Hyatt-managed locations, primarily its restaurants.
The company also said the “at-risk window” for a limited number of locations began on or shortly after July 30.
The malware was designed to collect data such as cardholder name, card number, expiration date and internal verification code, the company said.
Hyatt said it has notified the appropriate country and state regulators and is working with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Shares of Hyatt closed down 3 per cent at US$38.67. Up to Wednesday’s close, they had lost about a fifth of their value since the data breach was announced.
Hyatt said it has arranged an identity protection and fraud detection firm to provide one year of free services to affected customers.
The company disclosed in December that its payment processing system was infected with malware but did not mention how long its network was infected.
Hyatt, controlled by the billionaire Pritzker family, is the fourth major hotel operator to warn of a breach since October.
Hilton Worldwide Holdings and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide disclosed attacks on payment processing systems in November.
Donald Trump’s luxury hotel chain, Trump Hotel Collection, also confirmed the possibility of a data security incident.
Hyatt said the malware was found at many of its brands, including the Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency and Andaz. About 100 of the hotels affected were in the US. The rest were abroad in cities including London, Paris and Shanghai.
The Chicago-based company has about 630 properties.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
