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The Cyber-security Market report has predicted worldwide spending on cyber-security will surpass $1 trillion by 2021. This is a result of annual cyber-attacks costing $9.5 million in global damages. The many solutions on the market require cyber-security services to be innovative on how they market. Cyber security companies want to stand out to customers while still remaining credible. Many businesses are also uneducated and/or don't prioritize cyber-security. The use of blogs and downloadable e-books allow marketers to educate while promoting their product. Cyber security marketers have to make sure they have an easy user-interface, use data in messaging, and don't over exaggerate the capabilities of their products.

This article discusses the liability for a cyber breach at various branded hotels between the franchise owner or the corporation. The Trustwave 2016 Global Security Report stated that the hospitality industry had the second largest amount of data breaches. Additionally, more than half of the breaches are from a corporate/internal network breach. According to a Ponemon study, the average cost of a data breach is $4 million. While this is alarming, it is a surprise since hotels store numerous amounts of personal customer data including guest's credit card information. The article states that cyber hacks are largely due to the gap in not knowing who is responsible for the cyber security. There is an issue of control of data versus franchise network requirements. The hotel brand places individual franchisees in control of their own cyber security. However; they must rely on many centralized corporate owned reservation systems that could be possible access point for cyber attacks. The article suggests that the individual franchisee should make more effort in protecting their customers information as the hotel brand will take most of the blame. This does not help either side. Also, it mentions that in order to protect the hotel franchise it is important to have updated systems and should consider investing in cyber insurance.

I found with this article that cyber attacks are becoming alarmingly more common than we have prepared ourselves for. Businesses now need to invest in their own cyber security department or, as the article suggests, apply a cyber security budget to each department. With security budgets predicted to increase 14%, money should be collected through the customers over a lifetime of the customer so that the budget is continually there. I found this article to stand out to me because I never thought of cyber security being so crucial, but it easily makes sense. I think a lot of business lack in providing the proper amount of security to prevent cyber attacks. Personally, I never heard of a cyber security department so this was new for me to read about.

Hotels POS systems are at risk for customers. Hackers are using tactics like Phishing and ransomware. Hotels must take action and arm themselves with a "toolbelt" of security options to combat the hackers.

This article explores the issues with cyber security in the hotel industry. it is to be taken seriously because customer information is on the line and so is the company's reputation and revenue. Hotels must look into their POS systems because, according to the article, is a weak security point. However, it holds much of the consumer's information like credit card numbers, expiration dates, and etc. The POS system is vulnerable so the secuiry put in place to protect it must be updated. Personal details for hotel guests are stored in many different places in a hotel's many systems. This includes the restaurant, gift shops, billing, facilities, and etc. According to the article, hotels needs a "toolbelt" of various security technologies to prevent malicious attacks. The three mentioned in the article are File Integrity Monitoring, Unified Threat Management, and Security Information and Event Management. Please look into the article to read what each of these systems can do in regards to cyber secuity for the hospitality industry. A good way to implement these tools is to look into outsourcing a managing security firm that specializes in cyber security. This can help minimize and even diminish things that can cause breaches in systems. In my opinion, this article gives solutions to hotels in regards to cyber security. Sometimes installing a firewall or antivirus is simply not enough. A security firm that specializes in this area can be considered. It may be expensive depending on the business to do that, however, it will be even more expensive to have a tarnished reputation for not securing customer information and to deal with lawusuits.

This article is extremely important. I feel like everyone should read it because it goes hand in hand with what we have learned this week in class. The topic of cyber security is something that people need to shift paradigms. This article brings us great points about the digital era we live in. since everything we do in business now a days has to do with technology, it is important to have security and trust in this. With the increase reliance on this technology comes a higher risk. The article brings up that awareness levels of cyber security and data privacy issues are growing at a steady pace. It is extremely important that in the hospitality industry, Businesses think about trust, confidence and brand health and reputation. This highlights the fact that it doesn't matter if security systems are costly, in the long run if something goes wrong that will end up being the most costly. The article mentions that there will be a regulation established by the EU called General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The purpose of the GDPR is to put people back in control of their personal information and to improve how entities look after personal information while it is in their custody. In conclusion, this gives companies a competitive advantage.

This article brings us the real version of how important to launch cyber security system, as there are actual cases in which hotel face loss because imperfect security net. Thus, the professor Mangal suggests that all hotel employees should keep an eye on the threats. At the same time when we protect our customer, we protect and branding our reputation as well. In the future, advanced technology such as biometric technology will be implemented to restrict access to data. Although hotels are unlikely to hire IT professionals directly, but they truly need cooperate with firms which specialized in cyber security, at the same time, help hotels strengthen the training of employees.

The article highlights the top five risks and security challenges in the hospitality industry. The following are the top five security risks according to the article. 1. Identity theft leading to credit card fraud - compared to other industries, the hotel industry is at more risk for credit card fraud and identity theft. This is because hotels are highly targeted by hackers. Hotel properties for the most part have credit card information for each and every guest that has stayed at a specific property. Hotels must be ahead of the technology curve when it comes to security however this is not always the case. 2. Silent invasions - This consists of all the cyber attacks that can affect a business by infecting the network. As discussed during the first module, hotels run majority if not all of their business using technology. If a hotel were to have their networks hacked it would leave them in a very bad situation. Since hotels operate their entire business using technology and multiple different systems, they would not be able to operate if they experienced a network breach. 3. Longer or no security audit cycles - Most branded hotels are required by the franchise to have consistent security audits done for each property. Independent hotels are deemed greater at risk for a security attack because they are not mandated to have security audits. These hotels sometimes skip audit cycles to save money. 4. Physical crime - This ranges from professional robberies to drug laps in hotel rooms. Hotels are at risk for armed robbery due to to lower chance of security compared to other industries that operate overnight. 5. Reputation risk - Hotels that experience a security breach almost always will see some sort of loss in competitive advantage. Nowadays with social media and the news travelers are more aware with what is going on and they would be more inclined to book their reservation somewhere else if they heard of the property having a security breach.

There have been many cyber-attacks in many different nations and that is for many different reasons, such as outdated, human error, and all software being in one vulnerable spot. It is important to always update your programs, use cloud computing, and to educate your personal on all cyber-attacks. It is also important for your teams to understand the "why" behind updating and cloud computing and this is to always keep an upper edge on cyber-attacks. Cyber criminals are always changing their ideas and new ways to take over networks and workday and night to find someone to slip up and it can cause the complete down fall of a company or nation.

As we begin to discuss cyber security this week, I found this article on increasing number of cyberattacks very eye opening. It was no surprise that due to an increase in technology usage, new risks would present themselves to organizations. However, the number of compromised records has sky rocketed to say the least, increasing by over 164 percent from 2016 to 2017. The article goes on to say, "cyber security is no longer a reactive measure, but a requirement for companies, and consumers." CFOs now even consider cyber attacks to be the number one external risk factor for businesses. Overall, its certain organizations today should budget for effective cyber security, in order to prevent any potentially harmful cyber attacks in the future. 

This article talks about the type of threats the hospitality industry can face, an explanation of cybersecurity, and how to protect your organization from cyber threats, especially phishing.

The following article does a great job outlining different aspects of cyber security within the hospitality industry. Security is one of the main departments that need attention and an additional budget in order meet todays security requirements. After doing some research, it is clear to see that all employees must have the same focus in order to provide the best security for their guest. Hotel security can provide things like: facility protection and control, guest and visitor monitoring and assistance, security command center monitoring (cameras, alarms systems and surveillances), maintain emergency response plan, etc. "Security has a difficult job of enforcing the rules and regulations of the establishment while making the guest feel welcome." The article goes over different security systems and what differentiates them, I thought that it gave a lot of insightful information into various cyber security systems.

This article stresses the importance of cyber security specifically within the hospitality industry. The author of the article describes how a strong cyber security management system should not be an afterthought for hotels and should be seen as a cost of doing business especially in a tech driven industry. The article lists some key components and areas to focus on for hotels to manage cyber risks and threats

The article talks about cyber security threats in the hospitality industry. Threats range from high staff turn over so staff isn't trained thoroughly, to insider threats where employees can sell information to third parties, to Cyber-criminals who infect POS systems with credit cards.

Data information security is very important to a business development.In my opinion, I think the relationship is inversely proportional. In other words, the more effective cyber security budget is invested, the less potential impact there is of customer information being stolen (being hacked). Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks. These cyberattacks are usually aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting money from users; or interrupting normal business processes.

Cyber attacks open more and more often and varied since cybercriminals are becoming more cunning and their methods more challenging to detect. This article introduces some types of strategies implemented to protect companies' businesses from cyber threats and cybercriminals. Including using Anti-virus software, firewalls, password managers (very useful while some even free), VPN, patch management program which not only for operating program but also for other applications running on your system, consider the email SPAM/Malware filters and security awareness training for the employee since "humans are the weakest link." An employee who accidentally clicks on the wrong link can put in motion a chain of events that results in a cyber breach. Finally, plan a 24/7/365 network and endpoint monitoring.

The article describes the main cyber threats that the hospitality companies face. Over past few years, nearly every major hotel group has been attacked. The same is true for the F&B industry. One of the reasons for that is that the hospitality companies are the ones that process credit card information more than in any other industries. Moreover, hotels and restaurants have many access points for the malware: from wifi networks to POS's. The attackers may also use the third party suppliers (for example, OTA's) to access the hotels' systems. Verizon 2017 Security Payment Report states that less than a half of all hospitality businesses have full credit card payment security compliance. The main type of the attack is POS intrusion. Denial-of-Service Attacks constitute about 20% of the total number. Although they are not so dangerous in terms of sensitive information, they can disturb the company's operations causing significant losses as well. Thus, the hotels and restaurants need to invest in early detection protection provided by the effective firewalls and antiviruses. However, it is also very important to understand that no technology may ever fully substitute the security culture of the company's employees. Many attacks are conducted due to the personal weaknesses of the associates answering the calls, for example. So, in my opinion, in addition to the cyber security systems, there should be appropriate personnel training as well as well elaborated procedure protocols.

Marriott's data breach which affected more then 500 million accounts raises questions about cyber security in the hospitality industry. Hotels are in the business of maximizing revenue and unfortunately cyber security is a cost rather than a profit therefore it is sometimes overlooked. However, companies in the hospitality can take steps the strengthen their cyber security and ultimately protect the data of their customers.

Today's travelers expect a strong network security. The challenge is that many hotels lack the IT resources because of budget. As a result, IT functions are limited to making sure security patches are up to date and services are running rather than proactively identifying security threats and preventing. This article introduces cloud-based security system as a solution. With the network security system, IT headquarters can monitor and manage the entire network. Also, hotels can save the cost for on-site IT resources and security appliances. It was interesting that cloud-based security is a solution for network security when there are many opinions that cloud computing is not safe. 

This article talks about the limitation of hotel network security issue, then introduce one solution to it. First of all, it mentions since the usage of Internet is growing big more than ever, customers has more attention and requirement on Network Security. Actually, staff of IT department spend most of their time on updating system and other mid-level support, while they should spend more time on proactively identifying security threats and preventing attacks. This happens due to finance and human source constraints. Lucky for us, there is already one effective solution, keyword, cloud computing. Buy applying cloud computing, IT staff only need set up firewall, configure security system on headquarter. After then configuration is done, they send out these IPS device to branch companies. The security system will automatically update through these devices, no more traveling between properties.

While many hotels right now are keeping and tracking down their valued customers' information, lots of those hotels are facing security problems also. Customers expect ironclad security that protects their entire "online" experience in the hotel, from online booking and iPad-enabled check-in to the wireless connectivity in their rooms. In today's cyber threat environment, that makes the hospitality industry a desirable and lucrative target for attacks. This article mainly talked about how to strength hotel network security.It suggested that a strong network security solution should combine cloud-based security configuration with plug and play installation of a firewall and IPS appliances. Which can be described as Taking Network Security to the Cloud.The IPS device will automatically contact and authenticate to the installation cloud, retrieve its configuration, and then reboot into the hotel's network ready to protect.

This article talks about how there is a serious concern in the hotel industry when it comes to credit card and identity theft. They talk about how all the major brands in the hotel industry were all victims of highly publicized, major breaches in the last year alone. Also, including airline and banks, hotels maintain a wealthy amount of database of personal and financial data. For example, with new technology systems being created, POS systems are a weak security point for many networks because they are constantly in use and are not always updated or even protected from vulnerabilities. The article talks about personal details for hotel guests are frequently stored in a variety of locations including restaurants, facilities, and government buildings, so hackers have a greater possibility to access your personal information. The bigger hotels are in more danger because of the volume of guests that come in and out of the location. Smaller hotels should be concerned not just about their security but also by ransomware, an increasingly favorable tactic to extort hoteliers by hackers who encrypt the hotels data making it inaccessible until ransom is paid for. I believe hotels need a toolbelt of various securtiy technologies that can be used to prevent future malicious attacks. I think by managing and implementing a firewall is essential which helps get rid of dangerous traffic from coming onto the network and preventing sensitive data from being hacked.

MOD 10: This article discusses the main tactics of cyber hackers that target hotels. Point of sale (POS) systems are easy targets for hackers due to their constant use during operation hours and because of that their security measures aren't always up to date. Hotels have large data banks since they're storing consumer profile information such as home addresses, phone numbers and credit card numbers. There's a large risk when it comes to security breaches within franchises because they have access to their parent company's regional, national and global systems. If their systems are hacked and breached, then that puts the whole system of the brand at risk. Security breaches within a system can also damage a brands reputation with the public. According to the article, "Recent major breaches at Fortune 500 companies and household names across the retail, restaurant and hotel sectors demonstrate that anti-virus, anti-malware and firewalls alone are not enough to secure businesses from the ever-evolving threat landscape." Smaller properties are even at a greater risk because not only do they have to monitor their compliance with PCI but also monitoring their security systems for their database and PMS system. Some of the recommended software's that should be used by hotels looking to be proactive with their company's cyber security is File Integrity Monitoring(FIM), Unified Threat Management(UTM), and Security Information and Event Management(SIEM).

This article explores the different tactics hotels should use after a cyber attack. The article mentions several different type of attacks such as Phishing when hackers trick customers into giving up their login credentials. Ransomware, when hackers encrypt data making it unusable and inaccessible for the hotel. Not one solution but rather companies should be equipped with a series of technologies from firewalls to file monitoring programs. Some of these technologies, like SIEM requires an intelligent IT team to have the capabilities of analyzing and monitoring the reports produced. This may be more difficult for smaller businesses to implement and maintain.

Restaurants have always been an easy target for cyber security hackers, in particular, hackers who are looking for credit card and ID information. Restaurants provide hackers with a "wealth of client data" due to the high "volume of credit card transactions and CRM data available." Once given access, a hacker could simple install malware and duplicate all customer information. Already facing critical financial issues during Covid 19, restaurants large and small need to take a stronger presence in the protection of their data. If discovered to be the start of a breach, customers will tend to avoid that business. "Chipotle, for example...got devalued by about $400 million after they suffered a breach," and many small restaurants "go belly up six months after an attack." Below is a summary of the types of attachs restaurants face: 1. Unprotected Wifi 2. Social engineering and phishing attacks. This is actually the one that stood out to me the most because of how sophisticated these attacks can be. It is a reminder that we are all at risk, both the technologically challenged and gifted. 3. Malware 4. Covid 19 Scams 5. Grub hub scams 6. Supply chain scams *A particular issue for restaurants and commercial businesses right now as companies scramble to find new vendors who can supply them with the products they require. 7. Public Health scams 8. Government Stimulus scams 9. Technical support scams How can we fight against these? Here are the recommendations: 1. PCI compliance 2. Hire and IT security professional to conduct a risk analysis and if possible, keep on as a consultant or full time 3. Keep a secure network and change free passwords daily 4. Use the latest operating systems, force multi-factor authentication, strong passwords, and use encryption services for data storage and transfers 5. Install and use robust web-filters and security software programs 6. Maybe most important!!! Train your employees. 5.