A cyber-attack hits Holiday Inn Hotels

Holiday Inn owner Intercontinental Hotels Group has confirmed a cyber-attack has hit the company.

IHG, with the world's largest hotel chains, issued a statement saying it was investigating "unauthorized access" to several technology systems. The Intercontinental Hotel Group said that the company's booking channels and other applications had been disrupted since Monday. The UK-based company manages the Crowne Plaza, Regent hotels, and Holiday Inn.

IHG confirmed it was assessing the incident's nature, impact, and extent, implemented its response plans and appointed external specialists to investigate the breach. The hotel company is also in the process of reporting regulatory authorities.

The company did not lose any customer data. It did not specifically say it was a ransomware attack, but most speculation points toward that direction. LockBit breached a Holiday Inn in Istanbul last month and released data stolen from the company. But no evidence is found to connect these two attacks. The IHG was also the mark of a three-month security breach in 2017 when more than 1,200 franchised hotels in the US were affected.