International hotel chain suffers security breach

 

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Posted on 26 Aug 2008 at 17:41

Best Western, an international chain of approximately 4,000 hotels, has downplayed the scale of a security breach of its computer systems that was first reported by Scotland's Sunday Herald newspaper over the August bank holiday weekend.

The Sunday Herald claims that an Indian hacker hacked into Best Western's reservations system and stole the details of anyone who has made a reservation with any of Best Western's 1,312 European hotels over the past year. These customer details were then allegedly sold on a website operated by the Russian mafia. The Sunday Herald claims that Best Western's reservations system was breached when a Trojan horse key stroke recorder installed on a hotel reservation computer recorded an employee's log-in details as they were typed.

In a statement to Computer Shopper, Best Western's UK PR Manager, Mikhaila Brentnall, claimed that only one hotel's reservation system, the Best Western Hotel am Schloss Kopenick in Berlin, had been compromised. She also stated that the personal information of only ten guests at that hotel had been compromised after a series of hacking attempts on the 21st August 2008 and that Best Western was currently contacting those ten guests. Brentnall further stated that no other details held by any other Best Western hotel had been compromised and that Best Western purges its customers' data from its computer systems seven days after they check out.

Any worried British customers are encouraged to call Best Western's Customer Services in York on 08457 73 73 73. Concerned American customers are advised to call Best Western's Customer Care in the US on 800-528-1238.

A spokesman from Best Western's US headquarters, Troy Rutman, confirmed that either a Trojan horse or virus had copied the log-in details for a single reservation computer at a Best Western Hotel in Germany. He declined to provide further details of the security breach, such as the specific Trojan horse or virus that had been used or which anti-virus software was in use at the time. He did confirm that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation is handling the criminal investigation into the security breach since Best Western's corporate headquarters are in America and that the FBI is able to liaise with foreign law enforcement agencies if necessary.

He declined to comment on the alleged nationality of the hacker and refused to confirm or deny whether the involvement of the FBI indicated that the hacker is American.

Author: Alan Lu