Mandarin Oriental confirms that the credit card systems in a limited number of its hotels in the US and Europe have been accessed without authorization and in violation of both civil and criminal law.
In a statement posted on its website, the group said it has taken, and is continuing to take, all necessary steps to contain the situation.
“We have identified and removed malware and are coordinating with credit card agencies, law enforcement authorities and forensic specialists to fully protect our guests and our systems across our portfolio,” Mandarin said in the statement.
Mandarin said it has been taking the protection of customer information very seriously.
“We take the protection of customer information very seriously. Unfortunately incidents of this nature are increasingly becoming an industry-wide concern and we have therefore also alerted our technology peers in the hospitality industry,” the hotel group said.
Mandarin said the credit card breach was a direct result of an unauthorized cyber-attack.Despite the Group’s leading data security systems, this malware was undetectable by all anti-viral systems. By working with forensic experts Mandarin Oriental moved swiftly to remove offending malware.
“Only a limited number of hotels in the US and Europe have been affected, and none in Asia. The forensic investigation is still underway and we are unable to confirm any specific hotel details at this time,” the Mandarin said. – BusinessNewsAsia.com