Hilton Wordwide Admits Credit Card Breach
Hilton Credit Card Breach:
Hilton Worldwide announced that it had discovered and removed malware designed to steal payment card information from restaurants, gift shops and other point-of-sale systems at some of its hotel properties.
So, if you’ve stayed at one of Hilton’s hotels in the past year, you might want to check your credit card history closely. The chain has confirmed a report that malware compromised its payment systems, putting your data at risk. The intruders got in between November 18th and December 5th in 2014, and between April 21st and July 27th this year. The malware did not expose home addresses or PIN codes, but it did gain access to credit card numbers, security codes and names. This is more than enough for hackers could potentially make purchases.
All customers who used a payment card at a Hilton Worldwide hotel between November 18 and December 5, 2014, or between April 21 and July 27, 2015, are advised to review and monitor their card statements, and to contact their financial institutions regarding any irregular activity.
Hilton is quick to say that it eliminated the rogue code, and it’s offering a year’s worth of free credit monitoring if you’re nervous. With that said, this is a story we’ve heard all too often: it’s a belated warning (about two months after a third-party discovery) for data breaches that could have been devastating far earlier. While there’s no guarantee that Hilton could have stopped the intrusions in the first place, it would have ideally notified travelers the moment it realized that something was wrong.
The Hilton Credit Card Breach appears to be announced publicly almost 4 months after (July 27th to November 24th is 4 months) they admit that is was removed. How do you feel about them not announcing the breach for 4 months?