Best Western (Europe) becomes the victim of the largest data theft in the world (UPDATED)

by Scott Carmichael on

The European operation of the Best Western hotel chain has become the victim of a massive cyber-theft attack. By placing a “keylogger” on a corporate computer connected to their reservations system, a whopping 8 million customer records were stolen. Included in the records are names, address, phone number, credit card numbers and employment information.

The records were stored for every single customer who stayed at one of 1300 European Best Western hotels since 2007. The Sunday Herald reports that the theft was carried out by an Indian hacker, who then put the information up for sale on an underground web site, operated by the Russian Mafia. The entire story sound like it was copied right out of a spy novel.

The whole thing is extremely embarrassing for Best Western, who have handed control of their European computer operations over to their American colleagues. According to a UK based Best Western spokesperson, the company is “taking appropriate action”. Of course, none of this will be of any use to people who have lost their information, and credit card companies might have no other option than to issue millions of new cards to victims of this theft.

If you stayed at a Best Western hotel in Europe in the past year, you may want to contact your credit card provider, and keep a close eye out for trasnactions you did not approve.

Source: Sunday Herald (via Slashdot), Image from Flickr.

UPDATE: Best Western have conducted an internal investigation and “found no evidence of 8 million stolen records” (PDF file). I’m sure time will tell whether this was all all elaborate hoax by an amateur hacker.



Carbon monoxide kills hotel guest and sickens others

by Erik McLaughlin on

As travelers, we all know that when you leave your house, you begin to assume certain risks that are inherent to travel. Staying at a reputable hotel chain is generally not thought of as a high risk behavior… until now.

Last week, a 63-year-old South Carolina man was found dead in his Best Western hotel room in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania with what officials are saying was carbon monoxide poisoning. However, the official cause of death has not been released, pending autopsy of the victim.

According to TheMorningCall.com, “Authorities at a news conference earlier today said an exterior plastic canopy for a masonry project caused carbon monoxide from hot water heaters to back up into the building.”

The level of CO was apparently so high that first responders, including paramedics and police officers, were physically ill upon entering the building. The scene was described as “chaotic” with guests laying on the floor and turning blue from poor oxygenation. There were no carbon monoxide detectors in the hotel.

Four guests and five rescue personnel were taken to local hospitals. The initial presentation was of a hotel guest calling an ambulance reporting “flu-like” symptoms. One hour later, reports of two guest losing consciousness prompted a full response of police, fire and ambulance services. The building was properly ventilated and CO levels returned to acceptable levels.

You can never know what to expect when you travel, maybe that is why we all love it? Still, personal safety and awareness should be at the forefront of every one’s mind, no matter where they are. As proven by this very unfortunate incident.