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5 . Incident response plan : Develop and regularly update an incident response plan to minimise damage in the event of a cyberbreach . This entails establishing clear roles and responsibilities for those on the response team , along with robust communication strategies for timely updates . The incident response plan will detail the steps and procedures for detecting , assessing and responding to different types of cyberthreats . When the threat is contained , your organisation can move towards the recovery and restoration of your operations . 6 . Be aware of brand phishing : Phishing is commonly used to exfiltrate customer data and hospitality is a prime target for brand impersonation . Be aware of any campaigns circulating that may refer to your hotel chain and make it clear to existing and prospective customers to only trust legitimate emails . A recent example of brand phishing attacks includes the exploitation of booking . com , one of the world ’ s largest websites for holidaymakers . Hackers target individual hotels that use the booking . com portal and once they gain administrative control , they trick guests into paying money to them and not the hotel .
Whether independent or part of a chain , hotels are responsible for storing the personal identifiable information of employees and customers and can ill afford any weaknesses in their cyberdefences .
To safeguard sensitive data and maintain industry integrity , hotels across the country should apply the same principles of physical security to their cybersecurity strategy , investing in the best technology , implementing access controls to limit exposure of confidential documents and mapping out an incident response plan to mitigate any losses .
In the world of hospitality , securing your digital doors isn ’ t just key , it ’ s the only way to ensure a five-star experience for guests and peace of mind for management . x
Deryck Mitchelson , Global CISO , Check Point
www . intelligentcxo . com
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