Cybersecurity in Travel and Tourism: The Risks, Trends, and State of the Current Market

The importance of cybersecurity in travel isn’t entirely new concept. After all, just like organisations in many other sectors, travel companies are responsible for collecting and managing huge amounts of sensitive data. They need to process credit card details and personal information on a regular basis, making them a valuable target for criminal enterprises.

However, the risk landscape for travel and tourism groups is evolving, thanks not just to evolving regulatory standards, but also the acceleration of digital transformation.

As companies rely on more apps, digital tools, automation systems and AI to interact with and support customers, the threat landscape is growing. As a result, companies in this sector are being forced to rethink their technology stacks, and their approach to protecting sensitive data.

The Importance of Cybersecurity in Travel and Tourism

As an industry responsible for storing and using large amounts of personal (and valuable) data, the travel and tourism sector has always needed a strong focus on security. However, we’re now entering an era where companies are being exposed to more unique risks and threats than ever before.

According to a report from Global Data, the increasing focus on cybersecurity in travel and tourism can be broadly attributed to three main factors:

• Technology trends: In today’s digital age, the travel and tourism industry has become increasingly dependent on technology to support customers and align employees. As reliance on technology grows, so too do the risks that these companies face. Ransomware, malware, supply chain attacks, and hacking are all becoming more prominent threats as companies shift more of their processes into the cloud and technology-driven ecosystems.

• Macroeconomic trends: Similar to other highly regulated industries, like education, travel and tourism companies are struggling to stay one step ahead of criminal attacks due to limited IT budgets, and cybersecurity skill shortages. Many organisations are struggling to access the resources they need to tackle a growing number of threats with efficiency.

• Regulatory trends: Growing concerns about how companies store and manage data are leading to massive shifts in regulatory compliance standards. Additionally, new technologies are paving the way for new regulatory considerations surrounding concepts like AI and automation. This is leading to even bigger challenges for travel and tourism brands.
The Current Cybersecurity in Travel and Tourism Threats

Notably, while maintaining security in the travel sector is becoming more complex, there are benefits available to companies that effectively implement the right strategies to mitigate risks. Organisations that prioritise a secure approach to digital transformation don’t just reduce their risk of being hit with huge regulatory fines and legal penalties.

The right approach can also help companies to maintain customer loyalty, differentiate themselves from the competition, and leverage their data more effectively.

Of course, to unlock the benefits of implementing robust cybersecurity mechanisms, travel and tourism companies first need to understand the challenges they’re facing. Here are some of the most significant threats in today’s landscape, and what companies can do to overcome them.

1. Increasingly Complex Technology Infrastructure

Since the pandemic, travel and tourism companies have faced increasing pressure to innovate and digitally transform, so that they can more effectively serve customers, differentiate themselves from the competition and increase revenue. Many companies are shifting processes and ecosystems into the cloud to help reduce costs and improve scalability.
We’re also seeing a greater number of companies investing in artificial intelligence platforms, to build their own bots and systems that will help streamline the journey of the travel customer. Unfortunately, the implementation of new technologies, while essential, comes with various risks.

For instance, many larger travel and tourism companies shifting operations into the cloud still need to leverage some on-premises solutions. This can make it harder for organisations to maintain a full and holistic view of their network, and potential vulnerabilities.

Additionally, while AI can hold tremendous value for travel and tourism companies, the LLMs and code frameworks companies use to build their own applications aren’t always reliable. Lack of access to the right skills and resources to enable AI tools could open new threat windows.

To overcome these issues, companies need to ensure they’re working with the correct vendors. This means searching for cloud vendors that offer end-to-end encryption, monitoring, and security analysis tools for the entire technology ecosystem. It also means working with solution providers that offer pre-secured frameworks for application development.

2. The Growth of Phishing Attacks

Phishing scams have become a common concern in every industry, but they’re particularly popular in the travel landscape. Customers are shopping for travel-based products, and managing more of their bookings with online tools and emails than ever before. This has led to an influx in criminals attempting to convince clients to share personal details with phishing emails and messages.

It’s not just the consumers of travel and tourism companies that stand to suffer from these attacks. Phishing criminals are also using their tactics to steal crucial data and log-in information from employees working in the remote and hybrid landscape.

Although both employees and consumers are becoming more adept at spotting phishing attempts, criminals are also becoming more sophisticated in their strategies. Some attackers are even using LLMs to write emails that include potentially “personal” information about targets. This is making it harder for companies to protect their communities.

To optimise cybersecurity in travel and tourism, companies need to go beyond simply educating employees and consumers. They need to install web and spam filters, firewalls, and antivirus software to help mitigate risks. They also need to think carefully about the tools they implement to monitor potentially suspicious activity on employee accounts.

3. Increasing Malware and Ransomware Attacks

Phishing maybe one of the most significant factors affecting cybersecurity in travel and tourism, but it’s only one example of a wide range of attacks that companies need to be aware of. Malware and ransomware attacks have also been increasing in this sector.

Similar to phishing attacks, these threats have grown more significant in recent years as criminals continue to invest in the latest artificial intelligence technology. Although companies offering access to generative AI tools attempt to govern its ethical usage, there are still plenty of criminals that use Gen AI systems to create malware.

Even solutions like ChatGPT has been used to create functional malware in the past. One of the easiest ways for companies to overcome this threat, is to invest in high-end anti-malware solutions. However, they’ll also need to ensure they’re working with vendors to keep their systems updated, and protected against potential leaks.

Companies can also benefit from implementing stronger authentication strategies into their ecosystems (such as multi-factor authentication), and leveraging tools to monitor potential threats and suspicious activity in real-time across their technology infrastructure.

4. Emerging Threats Threatening Encryption

Encryption is one of the core strategies that today’s travel and tourism companies use to protect their customers, and their organisations from data breaches and security issues. Unfortunately, even standard encryption methods may not be enough in the future.

Although at this stage, tech leaders have yet to develop a computer capable of breaking encryption standards, the evolution of the quantum computing market is taking us closer to a day when this kind of breach is possible. This could mean that travel companies can no longer rely exclusively on common end-to-end encryption methods to protect their data.

New cryptographic strategies could help companies to overcome these concerns. However, the implementation of these new protocols will require the support of a specialised technology integrator.

Additionally, since the implementation of technologies will lead to even more complexity in an organisation’s technology stack, it will become increasingly crucial for businesses to ensure they have full visibility into their entire ecosystem, from software solutions, through to endpoints and devices.

5. New and Complex Fraud Risks

Finally, fraud is yet another common concern for companies implementing cybersecurity in travel and tourism workflows. Often connected with the rising threat of phishing, fraud can lead to significant losses for both consumers and businesses. While fraud isn’t a new concept for travel organisations to be aware of, the strategies used to prevent fraud may need to evolve.

At this point, travel companies don’t just need to be concerned about criminals stealing customer log-in data or account details. They also have to consider how criminals might leverage generative AI tools to “deepfake” a person’s identity. Increasingly, criminals are using deepfake strategies for everything from forging passports, to replicating the voices of consumers.

This is making it harder for travel and tourism companies to ensure they’re actually interacting with the right person. It could even lead to increasing challenges with border security control in the years to come, if criminals are able to bypass biometric security measures.

The increasing risks caused by the malicious use of AI will require travel and tourism companies to take a multi-faceted approach to authenticating customers and eliminating fraud. Simply relying on biometric authentication may not be enough. There may be a need to install AI-powered cybersecurity systems that can differentiate between real and human voices, or even experiment with the blockchain for additional forms of protection.

Optimising Cybersecurity in Travel and Tourism

Mastering cybersecurity in travel and tourism isn’t a simple concept, particularly in today’s age, where criminals are becoming more sophisticated, and the technology they use is growing more advanced. To protect themselves, and their customers, travel and tourism companies will need to rethink their entire security strategy, and re-assess their risk landscapes.

This will mean not only investing in new tools and resources, but working with industry experts to eliminate the gaps in their security strategies, and address skill shortages.

Updating cybersecurity is likely to be a complex, and expensive process for many organisations. That’s why here at Techgrants, we’re taking measures to help empower travel and tourism brands. We offer everything from objective guidance on the right vendors, to risk-free funding to help companies of all sizes invest in the right security systems.
Contact us today to find out how we can help safeguard your business.