neumann@csl.sri.com
Date: Wed, 12 Dec 2018 16:19:45 -0800
[Thanks to Mabry Tyson.]
https://web.archive.org/web/20151123153316/http%3A//www.cio-today.com/article/index.php%3Fstory_id%3D112003V3SRQ8
21 Nov 2015 (a year or so after the initiation of the intrusion currently in the news)
Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. is the latest known hotel
target of cyber-attackers. The company on Friday announced that hackers
had injected malware into point of sale systems at some of its hotels in
North America.
That malware ultimately made it possible for unauthorized parties to tap
into the payment card data of some hotel guests. Starwood, which operates
brands including Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft, Element, and Westin, now
joins the *Trump Hotel Collection and the Hilton chain* of hotels on the
list of hotel data breaches.
As soon as it discovered the breach, Starwood hired outside forensics
experts to investigate the depth and breadth of the attack. The result:
investigators discovered malware installed in the point of sale systems of
some of its restaurants, gift shops and other systems. *The company said,
at this time it doesn't appear Starwood's guest reservation or preferred
guest membership systems were breached.*
``Starwood certainly isn't the first company to be affected by point of
sale malware. The path from discovery to recovery is well-worn at this
point. In some cases this malware has been present for *more than a
year.*'' While the incident may seem like a point in time, it's really a
lengthy campaign of data theft, Erlin said, adding that he's surprised
that fraudulent activity from stolen card data wasn't discovered sooner.
Incidentally, a better reference on the 2015 MARRIOTT intrusion (which started July 2014, and ended April 2015) is this (which refers to an earlier malware incident in 2014):
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/white-lodging-releases-information-about-data-breach-investigation-at-select-food-and-beverage-outlets-300062065.html