Two in three hotel websites unintentionally leak guests’ booking and personal data to third-party sites, such as analytics and marketing companies, a Symantec study of over 1,500 hotel websites across 54 countries has revealed. Information included names, credit card details, email addresses and passport numbers. The reference code attached to the link could be shared with more than 30 different service providers, including social networks, search engines and advertising and analytics services. The study, which was conducted by the security firm between May 2014 and March 2015, found that more than half (52%) of hotels surveyed had been hacked or compromised at some point during their operation. The research follows Marriott International’s recent disclosure of a significant data breach. Marriott was not included in the Symantec study.
Two in three hotel websites unintentionally leak guests’ booking and personal data to third-party sites, such as analytics and marketing companies, a Symantec study of over 1,500 hotel websites across 54 countries has revealed. Information included names, credit card details, email addresses and passport numbers. The study, which was conducted by the security firm between May 2014 and March 2015, found that more than half (52%) of hotels surveyed had been hacked or compromised at some point during their operation. The research follows Marriott International’s recent disclosure of a significant data breach. Marriott was not included in the Symantec study.