IT Brew // Morning Brew // Update

CYBERSECURITY

Francis Scialabba

United we stand, divided we fall…and by fall, we mean succumb to the advanced cyber-schemes lobbed at the travel industry.

The hospitality sector may not be the industry hardest-hit by cybercriminals (that would be the manufacturing industry, as per IBM’s 2026 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index report), but Booking.com CSO Marnie Wilking told IT Brew that it has drawn more malicious attention in recent years, making it essential for everyone in the industry to work together and stay up-to-date with the threats.

“It’s definitely become more targeted over the last several years, especially post-Covid, when travel really picked back up again, and has really gone crazy since then,” Wilking said. “So, there’s clearly quite a bit of money to be made there.”

What are threat actors up to these days? Unsurprisingly, Wilking said AI is making phishing emails more polished, and helping malicious actors create convincing fake property listings on Booking.com and other marketplace websites.

More about the inside of the company’s strategy against fraud.—BM

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