Easy Hotel Cybersecurity: Practical Steps to Secure Your Property

Hotel cybersecurity is a critical concern for guests and the hotels themselves. Storing vast amounts of personal and financial data, they are a prime target for hackers looking to steal credit card details and individual identities, which has a devastating effect on the hotel’s reputation.

For instance, an ACCOR data breach exposed the personal information of 642,000 unsuspecting users and preceded four straight months of negative stock growth from April to July 2024.

Similarly, a 2023 Trustwave study found that 31% of hospitality organizations have reported a data breach, costing an average of $3.4 million. With potential losses looming, hotels need to bolster their security strategies before it’s too late.

In this article, we’ll cover the best cybersecurity practices for hotels so you can significantly lower the risk of damage to your reputation and financial stability.

1. Understand common hotel cybersecurity threats

The hospitality industry has a variety of vulnerabilities for hackers to exploit. Technical systems such as property management systems (PMS) and point-of-sale (POS) terminals frequently transfer sensitive data, and inexperienced staff can fall victim to scams.

Here are the most common hotel data security threats:

• Ransomware attacks: Malicious software encrypts hotel data, forcing owners to pay a ransom to regain access. In 2023, MGM Resorts suffered a ransomware attack that disrupted hotel bookings and casino operations, costing over $100 million.
• Phishing scams: Among the most common attacks, cybercriminals send fake emails that trick hotel employees into revealing login credentials or financial data.
• POS system breaches: Hackers infiltrate payment terminals, compromising guest credit card information.
• IoT vulnerabilities: Smart locks, digital room controls, and Wi-Fi-connected devices can be tempting entry points for hackers.

Understanding the most common hospitality cyber threats is the first step in hotel cyberattack prevention, helping you identify weak spots and strengthening security protocols against breaches.

2. Implement and maintain a secure hotel Wi-Fi infrastructure

Many hotels offer free Wi-Fi as a convenience, but without proper security measures, these networks can become an easy entry point for cybercriminals.

To enhance hotel cybersecurity, follow these best practices:

• Separate guest and staff networks: Keep public Wi-Fi separate from internal hotel operations, PMS, and payment processing.
• Use strong encryption: Implement WPA3 encryption to prevent unauthorized access to hotel Wi-Fi networks.
• Require authentication: Use a captive portal to verify guests before granting internet access, preventing anonymous users from entering your systems.
• Change default passwords: Many network routers come with factory-set credentials that hackers can easily guess. Regularly update passwords with complex, unique combinations.
• Monitor network activity: Set up real-time security monitoring to detect suspicious behavior like repeated login attempts or unknown devices connecting to the network.

Running periodic checks to secure hotel Wi-Fi significantly reduces the risk of cyber threats and protects your reputation without affecting the guest experience.

3. Follow the principle of least privilege to control access

The principle of least privilege (PoLP) limits each user’s access to only the systems, tools, and processes they need to do their job. Access controls simplify tracking which resources each user has engaged with and block hackers from exploiting a single compromised login to move laterally throughout your business.

As a case in point, your front desk staff should have access to booking details but not financial records. On the other hand, IT admins may need to manage network security, but have no immediate requirement for customer information. When working with temporary or contract workers, issue access that expires after a defined period to prevent avoidable security risks.

Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds another layer of security by requiring users to confirm their identity through a second method, such as a mobile app or security token. MFA minimizes compromised credentials being used for unauthorized access.

4. Run regular software updates and patch management

Outdated software is one of the most commonly exploited vulnerabilities in hotel cybersecurity. Cybercriminals frequently attack known software gaps to gain unauthorized access. Software updates are designed to plug these gaps to protect guest information and stop interruptions to business operations.

Use proactive patch management strategies to regularly update operating systems, security programs, and third-party applications. To make sure you never miss a high-priority patch, automate your updates. If you can’t install updates immediately, many services have virtual patching tools that provide temporary security fixes.

Beyond software updates, don’t overlook firmware patches for network devices, including routers, firewalls, and IoT-enabled hotel systems. Hackers often target these devices as they give immediate access to internal networks.

5. Promote data encryption and secure storage

Guest information protection is a fundamental part of hotel cybersecurity, and data encryption plays a crucial role in securing that information. In short, encryption transforms data into unreadable code that can only be accessed with the proper decryption key. Therefore, even if cybercriminals manage to steal customer data, they can’t view or misuse it.

You need to encrypt credit card details, passport numbers, and booking history both in transit (when it is being transmitted between systems) and at rest (when it is stored on hotel servers or cloud platforms). Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS) encrypt data exchanged over networks, while encryption algorithms are applied to information storage.

Additionally, hotels should avoid storing customer data longer than necessary. Secure cloud storage solutions with built-in encryption offer an extra layer of protection without affecting controlled access. A combination of encryption and proper access controls is a smart application of cyber risk management for hotels to earn guest trust.

6. Train employees in the best cybersecurity practices for hotels

Even the most advanced hotel cybersecurity measures can be undermined by human error. Cyberattacks that target hotel employees rather than systems, such as phishing scams and social engineering, are the most common way to penetrate a company. Although you could identify traditional phishing scams through errors and generic messaging, artificial intelligence can scrape information to make attacks more accurate, personalized, and contextual.

Therefore, anybody handling sensitive information needs to know how to spot and avoid hospitality cyber threats. Without proper training, your team could unknowingly click on malicious links, share login credentials, or fall victim to deceptive phone calls from cybercriminals posing as IT support.

Ongoing cybersecurity training should include the following topics and activities:

• How to recognize suspicious emails
• How to avoid phishing attempts
• Simulated phishing attacks
• Best practices for processing guest information securely
• Cybersecurity policies on data handling, and steps to take after seeing a security breach

Save your materials in a centralized knowledge base for easy access, and be sure to update them to empower employees to secure your hotel property.

7. Develop an incident response plan

A comprehensive incident response plan is imperative to react quickly to security breaches and minimize potential damage to guest information and business operations. Without a structured plan, hotels face the risk of extended downtime, financial losses, and reputational damage.

Before you get into the details of your strategy, establish a dedicated cybersecurity response team to mitigate threats. This team should include IT personnel, legal advisors, and senior management who can coordinate and authorize a swift and effective response.

Below is a sample hotel cybersecurity response plan to deal with data breaches:

• Monitor unusual activity, unauthorized logins, or system disruptions to detect and identify the incident.
• Contain the threat, isolating affected systems, restricting access, and temporarily disabling vulnerable networks.
• Assess the impact on systems, guest information, and financial data.
• Communicate with relevant stakeholders, including hotel management, IT teams, legal advisors, and, if necessary, affected guests and authorities.
• Eradicate the threat, remove malware, change login details, and patch vulnerabilities.
• Recover and restore operations by restoring data from secure backups.
• Review and update security policies to strengthen cybersecurity measures.

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8. Secure vendor and third-party management

Hotels rely on a network of third-party vendors for services, whether it’s for property management, payment, or reservations. While these partnerships improve efficiency, they also represent additional risks if vendors don’t follow best cybersecurity practices for hotels. For example, the data of half a million guests from more than 10,000 properties was exposed after hotel management company Otelier suffered a data breach.

To reduce these risks, you need to conduct thorough security assessments before partnering with third-party providers. Check that vendors comply with their industry’s leading regulations and outline clear expectations for data protection, breach notification protocols, and regular audits. Setting strict vendor security standards is another step that helps you minimize external cybersecurity threats and safeguard your property’s and your guests’ data.

9. Monitor and audit your hotel cybersecurity regularly

Without an established workflow and reminders, it’s easy to leave it on the back burner. As cyber threats are constantly evolving, regular security audits are indispensable.

Start by making a workflow of tasks you have to cover, such as evaluating access controls, compliance checks, and penetration testing, and turn them into workflow templates. This stops your team from overlooking critical steps and uncovers weak points that an improvised audit may not cover. Internal audits can assess employee adherence to cyber risk management policies and highlight areas for improvement.

You should adapt your template to move with the times, both adopting more efficient auditing methods and reacting to new hacking techniques. The ultimate aim is to continuously strengthen your hotel data security and stay ahead of potential threats.

10. Ensure compliance with hotel industry data standards

Customers are beginning to become aware of the world of compliance. Regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) are now household names. Failing to meet these requirements can therefore result in mistrust as well as potentially heavy fines, legal consequences, and reputational damage.

In addition to global regulations, hotels must adhere to local laws and any specific industry requirements for their region. When you take hotel cybersecurity seriously, you need to secure payment processing, encrypted data storage, and strict access controls. Staff should also receive training on data privacy laws so they understand their role in safeguarding guest data.

Compliance essentially makes data security simple. Instead of forcing you to learn every small detail about cybersecurity, regulatory bodies give you the latest guidelines and best practices that you can implement to keep data safe and avoid legal repercussions.

Bitrix24: Laying the groundwork for cyber risk management for hotels

As cyber threats in the hospitality industry continue to increase, protecting guest information and keeping your systems online has never been more important.

From securing hotel Wi-Fi and enforcing strict access controls to training employees on cyber risk management, every step contributes to a stronger security posture. Regular software updates, vendor security assessments, and incident response planning further strengthen defenses, allowing hotels to detect and respond to threats before they escalate.

Bitrix24 gives you a full suite of security features and workflow management tools to enhance your hotel cybersecurity, including:

• Secure cloud storage for encrypted data protection
• Access control systems to limit unauthorized entry
• Two-factor authentication to secure user logins
• Audit logs to monitor user activity
• Daily data backups so you don’t lose vital information

Sign up for Bitrix24 and start building a robust hotel cybersecurity strategy today.