Hyatt Hotels attacked with payment-card stealing malware

BOSTON: Hyatt Hotels Corp said on Wednesday that its payment processing system was infected with credit cardstealing malware in an attack discovered three weeks ago, the latest in a series of breaches at hospitality firms.

Company spokeswoman Stephanie Sheppard said in an email late on Wednesday that the attack was discovered on Nov 30. She did not say if the attackers succeeded in stealing payment card numbers, how long its network was infected or how many of the chain’s 627 hotels were affected.

“Customers should review their payment-card account statements closely and report any unauthorised charges to their card issuer immediately,” she said.

Hyatt, controlled by the billionaire Pritzker family, is the fourth major hotel operator to warn of a breach since October.

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc last month disclosed attacks on payment processing systems. Donald Trump’s luxury hotel chain, Trump Hotel Collection, also confirmed the possibility of a data security incident.

FireEye Inc said that Hyatt had hired it to help the company investigate the attack. Hyatt did not disclose the type of malware used in the attack. The company said customers should look for information on the attack at www.hyatt.com/ protectingourcustomers. – Reuters