Hotels Targeted by Credit Card Hackers

A study released this year found that 38 percent of the credit card hacking cases last year involved the hotel industry.

Hotels are targeted because of their inadequate data security. Thousands and thousands of credit cards are being hacked out of hotel systems.

Hackers can obtain the greatest amount of credit card information using the most simplified methods. Most of the chronic security breaches in the hotel industry start with the point-of-sale credit card swiping systems. Fraud experts say that hackers often steal personal data, make multiple small charges to validate a card, probe its weakness and test the awareness of a cardholder before making bigger charges.

It often takes months for fraudulent attacks to be discovered by hotels — and by customers who may be on the road frequently, not monitoring their credit card activity carefully.  The credit card company usually gets stuck with most of the bill if a consumer notifies the company of the misuse promptly. To guard against hackers, you should always check your credit card charges online after personal & business trips and always shred everything.

Source: NY Times

Backlash Grows Against Full-Body Scanners in Airports

Opposition to the new full body scanners at U.S. airports is growing by frequent fliers.  Many frequent travelers are complaining the scanners are too time consuming and invading their privacy.  According to Phil Bush of USA Today’s Road Warriors panel, the scanners can take up to five times as long as walking through a metal detector.  The scanners, which many fliers have dubbed as virtual strip searches, were installed at airports across the U.S. in March after a Christmas Day airline bombing attempt.  The TSA has already spent more than $80 million for roughly 500 machines, including 133 machines currently in U.S. airports.  According to officials, the TSA plans to install about 1,000 scanners by the end of next year. 

Source: USA Today

Updated BlackBerry Security Features Aimed at Boosting Corporate Use

BlackBerry creator, Research in Motion created its latest version of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server software with new security features aimed at accommodating the growing use of BlackBerry in corporate settings.  The new update will include an Individual Liable Devices Policy tool that will allow users to separate personal use from corporate use on the device.  The new software will also allow corporate data on personal devises to be erased remotely.  According to Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates, RIM's newest security enhancements appear designed to make it easier for security administrators to allow employees to use personal BlackBerry's for corporate uses.

Source: Computer World

15 Nations Agree to Work Together to Reduce Cyber Warfare Threat

The United States along with 14 other nations, including China and Russia have reached an agreement to help reduce the threat of attacks on each other’s computer networks.  The agreement, reached at the United Nations will recommend the U.N. create standards of accepted behavior in cyberspace between countries.  Member countries will now work more closely to exchange information on national legislation and cyber security strategies, and strengthen the capacity of less-developed countries to protect their computer systems.   Other member nations in the group consist of Belarus, Brazil, Britain, Estonia, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Qatar, South Africa, and South Korea. 

Source: The Washington Post