Mandarin Oriental Hotels Hit With A Breach

The Mandarin Oriental Group, proprietor of the eponymous hotels, seems to be the latest victim of an attack by cybercriminals.

According to a new report by security blogger Brian Krebs, the large scale breach seems to have affected properties nationwide including locations in New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami.

“We can confirm that Mandarin Oriental has been alerted to a potential credit card breach and is currently conducting a thorough investigation to identify and resolve the issue,” the company said in an emailed statement. “Unfortunately incidents of this nature are increasingly becoming an industry-wide concern. The Group takes the protection of customer information very seriously and is coordinating with credit card agencies and the necessary forensic specialists to ensure our guests are protected.”

The breach follows a similar attack about a year ago on hotel franchise operator White Lodging, in which restaurants and gift shops within the Hiltons, Marriotts, Sheratons, and Westins operated by the company were affected.

This breach, however, might represent a particularly lucrative haul for cybercriminals, Krebs wrote.

“I’m betting these cards would fetch a pretty penny. This hotel chain is frequented by high rollers who likely have [high]- or no-limit credit cards.”

For example, according to the Forbes Travel Guide, a basic room in the New York City Mandarin hotel is $850 per night.