Simon Chassar, CRO of Claroty commented: "Ransomware attacks on Point of Sale (POS) platforms can have disastrous impacts on the hospitality industry, pioneering to service downtime and long-term disruption."

He adds, "Research shows that 51% of the food and beverage sector reported substantial disruption when hit by a ransomware attack in 2021. Moreover, these attacks can cause significant financial losses for organizations, with more than a third stating that the revenue impact of operational disruption would be at least one million dollars per hour."

Cyber-physical systems

Simon Chassar continues, "As the hospitality industry continues to connect more cyber-physical systems such as POS and IoT devices to their networks; such as smart buildings heating, power and lighting, CCTV etc., organizations expose themselves to new cyber threats and vulnerabilities, which can lead to costly operational downtime. With the hospitality sector still recovering from COVID-19, a ransomware attack could be financially devastating. Therefore, it is crucial that organizations implement proactive strategies to secure their cyber-physical systems."

He concludes, "Businesses must have visibility across their entire network for all assets connected to understand their risk posture and provide patches to critical assets such as operational technology (OT) and IoT devices. It is also essential to segment their networks to restrict unnecessary connectivity and the movement of malware to mitigate the impact of cyberattacks."

In case you missed it

Which Vertical Markets Have The Greatest Growth Potential For Security?
Which Vertical Markets Have The Greatest Growth Potential For Security?

To serve various vertical markets and industries effectively, security professionals must recognize that each sector has unique assets, risks, compliance requirements, and operatio...

eCLIQ Enhances Security At Marin Hospital Of Hendaye
eCLIQ Enhances Security At Marin Hospital Of Hendaye

The Marin Hospital of Hendaye in the French Basque Country faced common challenges posed by mechanical access control. Challenges faced Relying on mechanical lock-and-key technol...

What’s Behind (Perimeter) Door #1?
What’s Behind (Perimeter) Door #1?

A lot has been said about door security — from reinforced door frames to locking mechanisms to the door construction — all of which is crucial. But what security measur...