With many people making summer getaway plans and even booking venues based on wi-fi hotspots and business centre access to ensure they are always connected, the U.S. Secret Service warned the hospitality industry that they should examine PCs which are used by guests in hotel business centres. This is because they may have been compromised by cyber criminals using keystroke-logging malware that records the user’s activity as they type, making it feasible to steal personal and financial data as well as passwords.
Toyin Adelakun, VP of products for security firm Sestus advised users to treat business centre PCs and networks as hostile and be vigilant. “Presume that they are malware-ridden and bug-infested and always sniffing for your passwords and other personally-identifiable information (PII),” he said. “If you have to use outside networks, accord them a respectful suspicion and do not use them to log onto any service that needs your private passwords.”
He also warned against using hotel or other hospitality networks for access to other services, such as e-mail, social-media, internet-banking and online retail saying: “it’s not just hotel business centres — it’s ANY business centre, computer showroom, Internet café or airport lounge.”
The advisory was issued solely to hospitality companies on July 10th and warned that arrests had already been made in Texas of potential suspects involved with compromising computers within several major hotels.
About Sestus
Sestus is an online security company offering a suite of ground-breaking security products used to satisfy multi-factor authentication requirements (FFIEC, CJIS, PCA, HIPAA). Sestus’ products are used by both regulated and non-regulated companies who wish to improve their online security.
Sestus, LLC is a privately-held, member-managed limited liability corporation organized under the laws of the State of Arizona (USA). Sestus, LLC (formerly Sestus Data Company, LLC) is the successor to Willis Software, a software development and consultation company established in 1992. Sestus began commercial operations in 2005, with product licensing commencing in early 2007. Sestus has maintained a steady growth rate and currently enjoys one of the highest customer retention rates in the online-security industry. Sestus is 100% member-owned at this time
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