For the second time in two years, global hotel operator Hyatt has been hit by a far-reaching breach of its payment card system. The latest attack involves the financial information of guests who stayed at any one of 41 Hyatt properties in 11 different countries. [More]
malware
Equifax Takes Part Of Its Website Offline Over Concerns About Malware
By 10.12.17
Following a report that its consumer-facing website may have been serving up malware to visitors, Equifax — the credit bureau that seems intent on finding every way possible to ruin your day — has pulled some of its web pages offline. [More]
After Hack, Registry-Cleaning App CCleaner Infected Users With Malware
By 9.18.17
When you download an app meant to clean your computer, you assume that it’s supposed to remove junk from your machine, not add more. Yet for about a month, downloads of the popular program CCleaner came with a free bonus dose of malware, installed on millions of PCs around the world. [More]
Clothing Retailer Buckle Had A 6-Month Malware Infection
By 6.19.17
Buckle is a denim-centric clothing store that sells “medium to better–priced” clothes for men and women. It may not be a household name, but there’s probably a store near you, with around 450 locations in 44 states. The chain admitted over the weekend that its payment systems were infected with malware from Oct. 2016 to April 2017, potentially compromising customers’ payment card data. [More]
Malware Being Spread Through Fake Android Antivirus Apps
By 6.14.17
Given the increasing number of cyber attacks on web-connected devices, it makes sense to have quality anti-malware protections on your phone. However, some “antivirus” apps lurking in the crowded app marketplace are really just fakes waiting to infect your device. [More]
Your Car Could Be The Next Ransomware Target
By 6.5.17 — Updated: 6.6.17
The recent “WannaCry” ransomware attack that crippled computer systems around the globe has highlighted the digital vulnerabilities in our daily lives. [More]
Microsoft Issues Fix For Massive Malware Vulnerability That Affects Most PCs
By 5.9.17 — Updated: 5.11.17
A few days after security researchers discovered a massive flaw in Microsoft’s malware protection engine Windows Defender — which is used in almost every recent version of Windows — the company has issued a fix that it believes will keep attackers out. [More]
Breach At Holiday Inn Owner InterContinental May Include More Than 1,000 Hotels, Not 12
By 4.19.17
InterContinental Hotels Group, which operates chains like Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, recently admitted that the payment systems in some of its restaurants and bars had been compromised, and released a list of 12 affected locations. It turns out that the list was short by well over 1,000. [More]
Neiman Marcus Agrees To Pay $1.6M To Settle 2013 Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit
By 3.20.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Three years after Neiman Marcus disclosed that it had become the victim of a hack attack in 2013, exposing the credit card information of more than 350,000 customers, the upscale retailer has reached a $1.6 million settlement in the subsequent class action lawsuit. [More]
Arby’s Admits Malware Infection And Credit Card Breach At Hundreds Of Restaurants
By 2.9.17
The last time you satisfied your craving for seasoned curly fries at Arby’s, did you use a credit or debit card? It’s time to start watching your statements for fraudulent transactions and also to watch your mailbox for a new card: Arby’s announced a payment card breach at a few hundred of its restaurants. [More]
Holiday Inn Owner InterContinental Hotels Confirms Payment Card Breach
By 2.6.17
In December, several banks had identified hospitality giant InterContinental Hotels Group as the common link among customers with otherwise unrelated fraudulent credit card transactions. InterContinental is now confirming the breach and releasing information on which of its hotels’ restaurants and bars were affected. [More]
New Hacker Trick: Locking All Hotel Guests Out Of Rooms, Demanding Ransom
By 1.30.17
Ransomware is a type of malware that infects computers and smartphones, encrypting the data on them and locking up the device, making it unusable. This is pretty bad when it happens to your personal device and you have no backup, but imagine an entire hotel full of guests locked out of their rooms because the hotel staff has been locked out of the computer system. [More]
Holiday Inn Owner InterContinental Hotels Investigating Possible Credit Card Breach
By 12.28.16 — Updated: 2.6.17
The Intercontinental Hotels Group — parent company to a number of hotel chains, including Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express — is investigating a possible breach of customers’ payment card data. [More]
Malicious Android Apps Have Taken Over More Than 1M Google Accounts
By 11.30.16
Is there something lurking in your phone that shouldn’t be? Malware designed to look like real Android apps has taken control of more than a million Google accounts since August, according to a new report from security researchers. [More]
Senator Calls For Investigation Into Office Depot’s Alleged Computer Scanning Scheme
By 11.18.16
Following a whistleblower report that some Office Depot staffers are allegedly falsely telling customers their computers are infected with viruses in order to sell them on unnecessary repair services, one lawmaker is calling on federal regulators to investigate. [More]
Office Depot Allegedly Diagnosing Computers With Nonexistent Viruses To Meet Sales Goals
By 11.16.16
Retailers upselling customers on services they don’t need is nothing new, but a new report claims that some Office Depot employees are falsely claiming computers are infected with viruses in order to meet sales goals. [More]
Google To Warn Users Of Sites Repeatedly Infected With Malware
By 11.9.16
A year ago, Google updated its “Safe Browsing” technology to provide a warning to internet users who are about to visit a site full of software meant to infect devices and potentially steal consumers’ personal information. While the warnings are removed once sites clean up their act, some merely do so for a short time. Now, Google is taking steps to ensure visitors of those pages know it’s a repeat offender. [More]
Spotify Ads Were Actually Malware For A While
By 10.6.16
Some non-premium Spotify users were greeted with more than just free music while using the service recently: they all got free malware. [More]
