TECHNOLOGY WHAT ’ S HOT
TECHNOLOGY WHAT ’ S HOT
IT ’ S TIME TO
TACKLE
CYBER SECURITY
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The cost of data breaches continues to skyrocket and is taking center stage in the boardroom . The employment market for cyber security professionals is extremely competitive . And aside from internal roadblocks , technology tools are evolving rapidly , and it is getting harder to decipher the best solutions to both complement a business and diminish risk .
Attackers are working together , selling or trading information to gain illegal access to hospitality systems . But there is power in numbers , and it ’ s time the industry unites to defend against these powerful dangers .
There are many different silos of security information to be shared , including exercise responses , readiness levels , decision-making , budget priorities , alerts and warnings , network activity , situational awareness and more . The collaboration of all of this information ultimately allows companies in the same space to collectively defend customers , staff and assets against the evolving threat landscape . Organizations also can multiply their knowledge and mitigate risk much more quickly than if they were working independently .
This idea of collaboration became prominent through a U . S . presidential executive order in 1998 that mandated major infrastructure sectors to create organizations to share security information among companies inside those sectors .
These organizations , Information Sharing and Analysis Centers ( ISACs ), help owners and operators in a sector work together to protect their data from security threats . ISACs exist for industries including electricity , financial services , information tech and more . These organizations curate and share critical information around cyber and physical security as quickly as it happens , in a confidential matter .
Many companies have experienced a range of attempted attacks , so it is important for these ISACs to coordinate responses and to develop best practices , architectures and other materials that grow the security posture in their industry . If an attacker gets through one person or system , it won ’ t be too long until that attacker tries the same method on the next , and the next .
TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY ISAC It is a pivotal point in time to bring this same collaborative focus around cyber security and defense to the travel industry . When an individual “ travels ,” their journey encompasses touch points from rail , to rental cars , hotels , cruise lines , travel management companies and more . These sectors need to secure the entire travel experience for their guests .
In late 2018 , the Hospitality Technology Next Generation ( HTNG ) launched the Travel and Hospitality ISAC . This group evolved from HTNG ’ s Chief Information Security Officers ( CISO ) Forum , in which top-level hotel security officers and analysts participated . As more activity around cyber security crimes surfaced , in under a decade the CISO Forum grew to represent , and uphold active participation , from over 25 global hotel brands . It ’ s critical to continue to leverage not only those directly in the industry but to dive further into overlapping industries .
Having a specific group of participants to evaluate how malware can develop and determine ways to accurately mitigate risk is critical to the security of each participant ’ s organization and strengthens the entire ecosystem .
Moving forward , the Travel and Hospitality ISAC platform , and other industry ISACs , are expected to grow exponentially as a multitude of industry-level cyber security analysts generate threat intelligence for their respective audiences .
EMILY WILSON is marketing manager of Hospitality Technology Next Generation .
June 2019 hotelsmag . com 41