Holiday Inn hotels hit by cyber-attack

The owner of Holiday Inn, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), has acknowledged a cyber-attack on the business.

IHG, which owns some of the biggest hotel chains in the world, declared in a statement that it was looking into “unauthorised access” to several of its technological systems.

The UK-based business claimed that since Monday, “booking channels and other applications” have been affected.

The Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, and Regent hotels are managed by it.

IHG acknowledged that it had undertaken its response protocols, including hiring outside experts to look into the breach, and that it was evaluating the nature, size, and effect of the event.

Additionally, the business is in the process of informing regulatory authorities.

The business stated in a statement: “As part of our response to the ongoing service disruption, we will assist hotel owners and operators. Direct reservations can still be made and operations at IHG hotels are still possible. “

But many people who have tried to make hotel reservations have complained.

IHG denied that any client data had been lost.

Although it was not explicitly stated, the majority of the speculation is that it was a ransomware attack.

The Holiday Inn in Istanbul was infiltrated by LockBit last month, and the company’s data was exposed as a result.

If the attacks are connected, it is unknown at this time.

Additionally, in 2017, around 1,200 of the hotel chain’s franchised hotels in the US were impacted by a three-month security breach.

As a result of rising geopolitical tensions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the beginning of the year, there is a greater focus on effective defences against cyberattacks, notably against Western financial institutions.