Malware
Breaking News: Motel One Unveils Shocking Data Breach Triggered by Ruthless Ransomware Assault
Motel One, a popular German hotel chain, has suffered a data breach after falling victim to a ransomware attack. The incident compromised guests’ personal information, including names, addresses, and contact details. Motel One is actively working with authorities and experts to investigate the breach and enhance security measures. Customers are advised to remain vigilant and monitor their accounts for any suspicious activity.
Motel One Targeted by Ransomware Attack
IT Services is concerned to announce that a recent ransomware attack has targeted the Motel One Group, resulting in the theft of customer data, including the details of 150 credit cards.
Motel One, a budget-friendly hotel chain, operates over ninety hotels with 25,000 rooms across various countries, including Germany, Austria, the UK, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the United States.
As stated in the company’s press release, a group of unidentified attackers managed to infiltrate Motel One’s internal systems with the intention of launching a ransomware attack. However, due to effective protective measures, the impact was limited.
The perpetrators infiltrated our internal systems and attempted a ransomware attack,” reads the press release.
“Thanks to comprehensive security measures, the impact on the operations of one of Europe’s largest hotel groups was minimized, and no risk was posed to our business.”
Upon discovering the breach, Motel One immediately collaborated with IT experts to investigate and address the incident. Furthermore, the relevant data protection authorities were promptly notified.
Preliminary findings from the investigation reveal that the hackers gained access to customer addresses, including the details of 150 credit cards. Affected cardholders have been individually notified.
BlackCat Ransomware Gang Claims Responsibility
Contrary to Motel One’s assertion of limited impact, the threat actors responsible for the attack, known as the BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware gang, have claimed responsibility.
The BlackCat/ALPHV group added Motel One to their dark web extortion site on September 30, 2023, stating that they have stolen nearly 24.5 million files, totaling 6 TB in size.
The stolen data includes PDF & RTF booking confirmations from the past three years, containing names, addresses, reservation dates, payment methods, and contact information,” according to BlackCat’s announcement.
“Additionally, a substantial amount of your customers’ credit card data and internal company documents, which undoubtedly contain sensitive information, have been compromised.”
BlackCat has issued a five-day deadline for Motel One to engage in ransom payment negotiations; otherwise, they threaten to release all the stolen data from the hotel’s computers.
IT Services has reached out to Motel One for additional information regarding the attack and whether ALPHV’s public disclosure has prompted a reassessment of their initial findings. However, no response has been received as of yet.