With the global acceleration of digitalization, many industries have brought their sales and customer engagement platforms to web and mobile apps, but cyber attacks have started to gain frequency with this change. Cyber attackers find vulnerabilities and steal data, which leaves companies at risk, both financially and in terms of reputation, with demands such as ransom. In terms of cyber security risks, tourism companies that carry their services to the digital world are raising stars. Can tourism companies protect their digital assets and valuable data from focused cyber criminals?
Digital tourism companies are among the prominent targets of attackers
Many people made a quick return to their missed holiday plans with the end of the pandemic period, in which physical activities were greatly restricted mainly due to social distance.Moreover, during the pandemic period, the interest in digital tourism companies has increased in the making of touristic plans, along with the transfer of consumption habits to digital.While this increase attracted the attention of cyber-attackers, digital tourism companies, where reservation and purchase processes are quite intense and customer data is quite high, started to face a great risk.Mediterranean countries are rich in tourism and therefore in this region where the risks of cyber attacks can be quite high.Taken with data, it is estimated that while the damage done by cyber attacks to the global economy reached $1 trillion at the annual summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council[AG1] 2022, it will reach $90 trillion by 2030[1].While it is of great importance for every sector to know the preventive cyber defense methods and how to audit the security level of digital assets effectively, in the light of new generation solutions, digital tourism companies also have a great responsibility to protect their customers’ personal data.Many people made a quick return to their missed holiday plans with the end of the pandemic period, in which physical activities were greatly restricted mainly due to social distance.Moreover, during the pandemic period, the interest in digital tourism companies has increased in the making of touristic plans, along with the transfer of consumption habits to digital.While this increase attracted the attention of cyber-attackers, digital tourism companies, where reservation and purchase processes are quite intense and customer data is quite high, started to face a great risk.Mediterranean countries are rich in tourism and therefore in this region where the risks of cyber attacks can be quite high.Taken with data, it is estimated that while the damage done by cyber attacks to the global economy reached $1 trillion at the annual summit of the World Travel and Tourism Council 2022, it will reach $90 trillion by 2030[1].While it is of great importance for every sector to know the preventive cyber defense methods and how to audit the security level of digital assets effectively, in the light of new generation solutions, digital tourism companies also have a great responsibility to protect their customers’ personal data.
How digital tourism companies can be protected from cyberattacks
Tourism companies that offer their services on digital platforms to their customers may be able to protect their sensitive customer data by using some effective methods. In particular, attempts such as capturing the data that are the target of cyber attacks and demanding ransom by blocking access, as well as gaining unfair profit by manipulating the data, can be prevented by smart methods. Our suggestions to defend your applicationsfrom cyber attacks can be listed as follows:
- Security tests of updated software and applications shall be done every time before going live. Make this a part of your devops process.
- Engineering teams can be trained about different types of cyber attacks. Since cyber threats are constantly developing and changing, it is very important that these trainings are always renewed and applied to coding.
- Test procedures can be established to check not just the new code but also the other functionalities as a previous security fix might be crashed again.
- Powerful red-teams can be utilized to maximize discovery of security issues.
- As cyber attackers discover new ways to infiltrate a system, it is necessary to set and watch alarms 24/7.
- Security awareness level of the employees can be measured with the practice of phishing attack. Train them periodically.
- Investigation tools can be used to find your copy malicious websites.
- Employees can be encouraged to use strong passwords and password tools.
- Bug bounty programs that bring together independent cybersecurity experts would be launched and the level of security can be checked effectively 24/7.
Digital tourism companies need to protect themselves and their customer data with preventive methods and shall be audited by new generation testing methods. The danger posed by attackers will not only result in a financial loss, but also have serious negative effects on the brand image and company reputation.
It is possible to stay one-step ahead with Bug Bounty programs
As summer begins, reservations and purchases increase, and the risk for companies’ digital data may also increase. In this period, which increases the motivation of the attackers, the bug bounty program can be performed to stay ahead of cyber attacks.
BugBounter, with its 2000 cyber security experts, ensures that companies’ digital assets are audited against attacks at the level of genius criminal attackers. Using similar tools, latest technologies and most smart techniques like criminal hackers, our experts (so called Bounters) who discover the vulnerabilities of applications report in real-time and help security teams to eliminate risks. BugBounter’s authorized teams provide verification checks as the security bugs are fixed to ensure the security is intact.
You can contact BugBounter now to start your bug bounty program right-away and eliminate cybersecurity vulnerabilities with the most cost-effective way.
[1] https://wttc.org/News-Article/WTTC-launches-new-cyber-resilience-report-for-the-global-Travel-and-Tourism-sector
