Cyber Security threats are increasing globally, but it's still a low priority for many business leaders.

Cyber Security expert Tariq Azmi, Founding Partner at Ember Technologies joins me to discuss why companies should be more concerned about customer data privacy, and what steps leaders should be taking to secure their customer data.

Keeping Data Safe

Information security is a pivotal aspect of many industries, not least the hospitality industry due to the nature of the data collected by companies operating within hospitality. Hotels, motels, resorts, restaurants, SPA, gyms, etc from the perspective of cybercriminals, hospitality appears to offer an ideal target vector for conducting crimes such as identity theft and credit card fraud due to the existence of multiple databases and devices containing both Payment Card Information (PCI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

Reliance on Paying by Card:

The nature of the hospitality industry is such that it is extremely reliant on cards as a form of payment. Restaurants and hotels alike often require credit card details for reservations, and final payment is also frequently made by the same card.

Cybercriminals use this reliance on cards to infect point-of-sale (POS) systems with malware that steals credit and debit card information by scraping the data.

Point of sale (POS) or payment card attacks:

A huge part of Hotel, Restaurants, Gym’s Resorts, SPA and other types of business in service industry cybersecurity is watching for point of sale (POS) or payment card attacks. That’s because they attack the vendor, rather than the business itself, making it a third-party crime.

This type of attack can result in customers being out of pocket and the media getting involved – which means bad press for your business. It also means financial implications for the business.

Cyber Security Tips

Use cybersecurity measures such as firewalls, network monitoring, anti-malware, and traffic filtering to protect against common threats
Be PCI-compliant across all card readers, networks, routers, and servers
Operate a continuous training program in cybersecurity to maintain a well-trained workforce
Conduct tests against your organization’s cybersecurity defenses in which you mirror the behavior of an actual hacker
Know where your data is and enforce the principle of least privileges to limit access to sensitive information
Use end-to-end encryption on POS systems
Install antivirus on the POS system
Regularly account for all POS devices to prevent theft
Always encrypt payment card information

About Ember Technologies

Founded by tech industry veterans with over 20 years of experience, along with expertise in compliance. Their work has taken them to 3 industries: healthcare (HIPAA), financial/banking (SOX & GLBA) and Defense Industrial Base (DIB).

Ember's technology solutions help businesses operate more efficiently, navigate compliance issues, and solve operational challenges.

About InfoSync

InfoSync is a leading provider of outsourced Finance and Accounting, Payroll, Benefits Administration, and Operational Reporting for multi-unit companies. Serving over 11,000 locations across 90 brands in various industries including restaurant, hospitality, senior living, automotive, entertainment, and health and beauty.

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