AI-Powered Malware Campaign Targets Hotels, Stealing Guest Credit Card Data
The hospitality industry is facing a sophisticated new wave of cyberattacks, as threat actors deploy advanced, AI-generated malware to steal sensitive guest information. A recently identified campaign is specifically targeting hotels around the globe with the goal of compromising booking systems and exfiltrating credit card data for financial gain.
This evolving threat highlights a significant shift in cybercrime tactics, where artificial intelligence is being used not just to create more convincing phishing attacks, but also to generate the malicious code that powers them. For hotel operators and their guests, this means the risk of data breaches has become more acute than ever.
The Anatomy of the Attack: From Phishing to Data Theft
The attack begins with a seemingly innocent email. Cybercriminals craft messages that convincingly mimic legitimate reservation inquiries from companies or tourists. These emails often contain malicious attachments, such as Word documents or PDFs, disguised as booking details or guest lists.
Once an unsuspecting hotel employee opens the attachment, a multi-stage infection process is initiated. The malicious document executes a script that downloads and runs the final payload: a potent Remote Access Trojan (RAT). This trojan gives attackers a backdoor into the hotel’s network, allowing them to operate undetected.
The key targets of this malware are:
- Property Management Systems (PMS): The software used by hotels to manage reservations, check-ins, and billing.
- Clipboard Data: The malware constantly scrapes the computer’s clipboard, hoping to capture credit card numbers or other sensitive information as it is copied and pasted by staff.
Once the malware has gathered valuable data—including guest names, credit card numbers, expiration dates, and CVV codes—it exfiltrates the information to the attackers using secure channels like Telegram, making the theft difficult to trace.
The AI Game-Changer: Crafting Smarter, More Evasive Attacks
What makes this latest campaign particularly dangerous is the use of artificial intelligence, specifically Large Language Models (LLMs), in its creation. Attackers are leveraging AI to:
Generate Flawless Phishing Emails: AI helps create perfectly worded, contextually relevant phishing emails that are free of the grammatical errors and awkward phrasing that often give away older scams. This makes it far more difficult for employees to spot a malicious email.
Write Malicious Code: The PowerShell and VBS scripts used in the attack chain show signs of being generated by AI. This allows attackers to rapidly create unique variations of their malware, helping them evade detection by traditional signature-based antivirus solutions.
By using AI, even less-skilled cybercriminals can now launch highly sophisticated attacks that were once the domain of elite hacking groups. This lowers the barrier to entry for cybercrime and increases the overall volume of threats targeting the hospitality sector.
How Hotels Can Protect Themselves and Their Guests
The financial and reputational damage from a credit card data breach can be devastating. Hotels must adopt a proactive security posture to defend against these advanced threats. Here are critical steps every hospitality business should take:
Intensive Staff Training: Your employees are the first line of defense. Conduct regular training on how to identify and report phishing emails. Emphasize a strict policy against opening attachments or clicking links from unverified sources.
Deploy Advanced Endpoint Security: Traditional antivirus is no longer enough. Use an Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) or Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solution that can monitor for suspicious behavior and detect fileless malware attacks.
Strengthen Email Security: Implement advanced email filtering systems that can scan attachments and block malicious content before it reaches an employee’s inbox.
Enforce the Principle of Least Privilege: Ensure that employees only have access to the data and systems absolutely necessary for their jobs. This limits the potential damage if one employee’s account is compromised.
Maintain and Update Systems: Regularly patch all software, including operating systems, PMS software, and office applications. Unpatched vulnerabilities are a primary entry point for attackers.
As cybercriminals continue to innovate, the hospitality industry must recognize that robust cybersecurity is not just an IT issue—it is a fundamental part of guest safety and business continuity. Vigilance and investment in modern security measures are essential to protecting sensitive data from these AI-powered threats.
Source: https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2025/09/23/kaspersky_revengehotels_checks_back_in/
