Limited data breach hits IHG properties

Atlanta restaurant and bar 1 of 12 properties affected last year.

InterContinental Hotels Group, which has its Americas headquarters in Atlanta, was hit by a limited data breach that affected a dozen properties including one here.

The Southern Art Restaurant/ Bourbon Bar at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta was one of 12 restaurants and hotels that suffered the breach last year, the company said.

IHG, operator of such brands such as Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Staybridge Suites, said malware was found on servers that processed payment cards at the properties, which are located throughout the U.S., the Caribbean and Canada.

The breach took place between August 2016 and December 2016 and was first reported by security blog Krebs on Security, which has noted other security lapses at companies such as Atlanta’s Home Depot. Other hotels that have had breaches include the Kimpton, Hilton and Mandarin Oriental chains.

London-based IHG said the malware searched for data such as name, card number, expiration date and internal verification code. The company said it is notifying guests who used payment cards at the affected restaurants and bars. An investigation to determine if other properties in the Americas region were affected continues, IHG said.

Other affected properties were in California, Illinois, Washington, D.C., Tennessee, Puerto Rico, Toronto and Aruba.