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Another group, identified by CrowdStrike as MUMMY SPIDER, is using the coronavirus theme in an "email thread-hijacking technique" that "ultimately led victims to download malware

The security firm said the strategy can be used to steal financial information or login credentials, and expanded to other targets

CrowdStrike also reported a surge in queries from companies who anticipate employees will work from home over the next three months, which can leave company data more vulnerable

Additionally, a survey from Gartner's risk management practice found that 56% of business leaders rated themselves as "somewhat prepared," for the outbreak, with 11% relatively or very unprepared.

Companies are increasingly expecting that the coronavirus will adversely affect their businesses. Yet, because the exact impact of the virus is uncertain, compensation committees and executives are not making immediate changes to their organizations’ pay programs — at least for now

34% of companies expected the virus to have a "moderate or large negative impact" on their business over the next six months. 44% companies say their annual executive incentive plan has been or will be affected by coronavirus, but nearly one in five intends to adjust funding or targets for the plan.

A recent survey by Gartner’s risk management practice aligns with Willis Towers Watson’s findings; just 12% of Gartner’s 1,500-plus respondents believe their businesses are highly prepared for the impact of coronavirus, with 26% believing it will have a negligible impact at all.

56% of respondents rated themselves somewhat prepared, and 11% said they were either relatively or very unprepared

It’s nearly impossible to predict exactly if or how a particular scenario will unfold or even when

The PCI Security Standards Council claims that since March, malicious virus-related reports are up 475%. The reason for the uptick is that cybercriminals are trying to take advantage of rapid changes to the payment-card data environment. In addition, 41% of small businesses have said they’ve suffered breaches costing more than $50,000 to fix.

Contactless payment is one of the big changes within the payment data environment. Several restaurant companies – from chains to independents – are offering it because it reduces customers' physical interaction with the restaurant's POS system. As part of this move, some businesses have eliminated credit-card PIN numbers.

Eliot says malicious email is usually the easiest way for cybercriminals to access your networks. The emails typically show up as urgent requests for sensitive information, often pretending to be from the Small Business Administration or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When the intended victim types in his or her credentials and clicks on a specific link or downloads an attachment, criminals are in.

Anyone looking for easy-to-implement security tips can try these six to start. Reduce areas where payment-card data is stored. The best way to protect against a data breach is to avoid storing any card information at all. With many small operators offering curbside pickup and accepting payment over the phone instead of through face-to-face transactions, it’s important they train employees not to write down payment card details. Instead, have them enter numbers directly into a secure terminal. Use strong passwords. Using weak and default passwords is one of the leading causes of payment data breaches among businesses. Effective passwords must be strong and updated regularly. The most recent guidance is: the longer, the better. Think of it almost as a “passphrase” rather than a password. Use it in the form of a sentence, but mix in different characters within the phrase. It’s much harder to break a long passphrase than it is a short, complex password. Weak and vendor default passwords often result in small business data breaches. Also, don’t repeat your passwords. Update your software often. Criminals look for outdated software to exploit flaws in unpatched systems. Timely installations of security patches are crucial to minimizing the risk of a breach. Whenever updates are available, use them. They will improve performance and close out some of the vulnerabilities cybercriminals are searching for. Enable two-factor authentication. It's so important for restaurateurs, especially where their POS systems or any of their sensitive databases are concerned, to have two-factor or multi-factor authentication enabled. If an instance where credentials are stolen occurs, there will be a second layer of verification the operator can rely on to potentially reduce the chances that information will be breached. Segment your networks. If you are going to store payment data, make sure your POS system has its own separate, secure network. Do not store sensitive documents on public cloud services such as Google Docs or DropBox. If you’re going to store sensitive documents, house them in an encrypted, locked down location.   Be hyper-vigilant. Criminals are going to try to take advantage of this pandemic situation as much as possible. You can protect yourself by not giving out sensitive information, especially within unsolicited emails. Don’t click on links you’re not expecting and do everything in your power to protect all sensitive information.

they're referring to a hybrid public-private model they've adopted to balance their concerns about security breaches with their desire to reap the benefits of running some enterprises through a public cloud vendor.

This transition to remote work on such a massive scale would not have been possible in the server-led infrastructure of 15 to 20 years ago.

Multiple providers can deliver different levels of services, leading to differing outcomes within cloud and on-premises operations.

Gartner Inc. predicted that through 2020, 95% of cloud security failures will be the customer's fault

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, from 2017 to 2018, only 29% of American workers could work from home.

Airbnb is also creating a $10 million Superhost Relief Fund, designed to assist Superhosts who need help paying their rent or mortgages, as well as long-tenured Experiences hosts.

Also expected in April is a way for guests to send financial support to hosts they’ve previously stayed with,

It is important to note that the far-UVC light will not eliminate coronavirus on its own. It needs to work in connection with the other safety protocols already put into place, including face coverings and social distancing, as well as the COVID-19 vaccine.

hing about U

If Disney Parks, including Walt Disney World and even Disneyland, or Universal theme parks decide to invest in these new far-UVC light devices, it could help them continue to operate safely during the pandemic. The major theme parks in Florida have already implemented several safety protocols including temperature checks, social distancing measures, face coverings, paperless payment methods, mobile ordering, and more, ever since they reopened their doors in summer 2020.

It’s a trend that’s slowly transforming housekeeping — and accelerating the pace of automation in hospitality.

Until recently, only health-care workers would frequently interact with disinfecting bots, which cost upward of $125,000 each. It’s a steep investment, but if it boosts travelers’ confidence, it’s worth it,

The appeal to the hospitality sector of virus-slaying UV light is obvious. Hospitals have found Xenex’s patented machines kill “22 times more pathogens” when compared with a room cleaned to CDC standards alone, Miller said.

certain hospitality jobs, those where face-to-face customer service is a key part of the experience, were less vulnerable.

Today, travelers might stumble on UV bots anywhere from five-star hotels and convention centers to train stations and cruise ships.

Take the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. The iconic hotel, famous for hosting the annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony, boasts in one promotional video that its Xenex robot staff “zaps every inch before your arrival,” leaving you a “pathogen-free sanctuary” where you’ll “rest assured you’re sleeping in the safest room possible.”

Some robot makers refer to these kinds of bots as “cobots,” a portmanteau of “collaboration” and “robots,” because they’re intended to work alongside people rather than replace them.

a report that predicted more than 60 percent of jobs in hospitality-dominated cities like Las Vegas could be automatable by 2035

Verified Market Research that projects the market for UV disinfecting bots will grow to more than $5.5 billion by 2027.

the pandemic is likely to accelerate the automation of jobs in sectors like hospitality.

“If they can develop driverless cars, if they can develop the whole variety of different things I saw there, certainly the jobs in our industry are going to change.”

Unite Here negotiates “extensive technology language” into its labor contracts. This helps ensure that workers can retrain for new skills, transition to other roles or at least receive severance pay if their jobs are automated out of existence.

Even as new technologies create new roles, some types of jobs may go away for good.

For now, even a state-of-the-art robot sometimes requires the delicate human touch.

organizers are canceling or postponing events throughout the country because of the outbreak of COVID-19.

which has 10 full-time employees, suffered a loss of more than $15,000 in the past month alone.

Smaller-scale event planners also feel a high level of uncertainty.

“None of this is going to allow us to make up for the lost revenue and growth,” she said. 

“My prediction is that my business will make 50% less of what it expected to do, if not less.”

'No Income at all for this month'

The event planning business generates $325 billion of direct spending in the USA and helps support more than 5.9 million jobs with $249 billion of labor income, according to an Oxford Economics and Events Industry Council study in 2018. 

organizers are canceling or postponing events throughout the country because of the outbreak of COVID-19.

“My prediction is that my business will make 50% less of what it expected to do, if not less.”

which has 10 full-time employees, suffered a loss of more than $15,000 in the past month alone.

sought nearly $440,000 in loans claiming that he needed to pay dozens of employees at three restaurants he owned

two of the restaurants weren’t open before the pandemic began, and he didn’t have any connection to the third

If we respond to a cancellation request with patience, compassion, and anticipation that they will return, your guest is likely to return when they can arrange their next trip. If we respond in a petty way to reject refunds or charge cancellation fees, you might get the money but you would have lost the customer forever and left a bitter taste in their mouth.

As a revenue leader, this is the time to show the rest of the hotel team that we are more than statistics, increased prices and overbooking levels. It's a time to use data to paint realistic expectations, whilst strategizing for the turnaround when it comes.

With the Chinese hotel industry currently on indefinite hiatus and many hotel employees already on mandatory leave, hoteliers across the mainland - as well as surrounding Asian markets and even the wider global industry to a growing extent - may find themselves in a state of confusion and panic. What’s important now is to remain calm and maintain rational thinking with a focus on long-term strategies that account for multiple possible outcomes.

Revenue management, sales and marketing

Keep a close eye on your hotel’s revenue budget and forecast and make appropriate adjustments.

Right price: Focus on your competitive set and market trends to make appropriate adjustments to your pricing strategy, and keep an eye on your competitors’ reactions, such as whether they remain open or not.

Right customer: Focus on consumer behavior patterns.

Currently, hotels analyze their competition intensely. In the future, hoteliers should supplement competitive analysis with deeper study, insight and research into the needs, expectation and satisfaction of their guests.

Right product: After the recovery period, the market segmentation will have seen significant change, and hotel management needs to make adjustments accordingly.

Self-services with artificial intelligence technologies to avoid facing other people. Room control via mobile app to avoid touching in-room buttons. Room cleaning by specifically trained/screened housekeepers. External-circulation fresh air system and floor drain to prevent aerosol infection. Individual body temperature checks.

Channels, communication and confidence: Maintain channel promotions and sales during the epidemic.

Based on many client-success stories, the automatic data analysis-based pricing approach will meet customer needs while helping maximize hotel revenue.

global force majeure circumstances, we intend to enroll all partners with outstanding non-refundable prepaid bookings made prior to March 19th for stays between March 20 and April 30, 2020 into the Global Cancellation Waiver Program."

Most crucially, a cybersecurity strategy must include a solid plan for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery in order to prepare for any worst-case scenarios. In the era of COVID-19, incidents of the worst kind are fast emerging and businesses deserve a fighting chance to succeed.

Today, the systems used for various functions in a hotel’s back and front operations are manned by employees who are not yet well-equipped to pick up on and counter large-scale cyber-attacks until it’s too late.

Mobile phones, tables and laptops connected to open networks become a hunting ground for hackers to harvest banking details through card payments. 

While financial services and the public sector have been forced to endure an endless stream of cybercrime, the hospitality industry has also become a prime contender for hackers in the wake of its rich data-base. 

No matter the size of the business, inefficient cyber support diverts crucial time from business activities and relationships with customers.

With global business fighting relentlessly to survive against the chaotic threat of the Coronavirus, all industries are exposed to criminal cyber-threats, and so the security of highly sensitive data must be handled appropriately.

British Airways and Marriott International are two major hospitality companies to be victims of high-profile breaches in recent memory. They serve as a stark reminder of the heavy costs faced when the safety of customers’ data is compromised.