IHG has announced that parts of the company’s’ technology systems have been subject to ‘unauthorised activity‘. It appears this activity has been occurring since Sunday when the systems went down. Originally IHG was saying that this was due to scheduled maintenance but that is no longer the case with the following statement being provided:
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (IHG or the Company) reports that parts of the Company’s technology systems have been subject to unauthorised activity. IHG’s booking channels and other applications have been significantly disrupted since yesterday, and this is ongoing.
IHG has implemented its response plans, is notifying relevant regulatory authorities and is working closely with its technology suppliers. External specialists have also been engaged to investigate the incident.
IHG is working to fully restore all systems as soon as possible and to assess the nature, extent and impact of the incident. We will be supporting hotel owners and operators as part of our response to the ongoing service disruption. IHG’s hotels are still able to operate and to take reservations directly.
A further update will be provided as and when appropriate.
It’s unclear what personal information or other data has been accessed at this stage. 1,175 IHG properties suffered payment terminal data breach in 2017 and in the end settled a class action lawsuit for $1.55 million. I’ve long stated that until the penalties increase for data breaches they will continue to occur at alarming rates.
