InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) reported a data breach
of guests' payment cards at U.S. hotels during the fourth quarter of 2016.
The company said that 1,161 hotels may have been affected, or
nearly one-third of IHG's 3,600 franchised properties in the Americas. IHG's largest
brand, Holiday Inn Express, had the most hotels on the list with 771.
IHG said malware tracked cardholder names, numbers,
expiration dates and internal verification codes. The breach happened between Sept.
29 and Dec. 29, 2016 IHG said that there was no evidence of unauthorized
payments after Dec. 29.
IHG said it has hired a cybersecurity firm to investigate the
breach and has contacted law-enforcement officials.
IHG urges guests to review their bank statements and report
unauthorized charges to card issuers.
Hilton, Hyatt and Starwood have reported data breaches at hotels
since 2015. In February, IHG confirmed a breach at 12 hotels.