So it seems Anasazi Hotel LLC had a server compromise that began on June 18, 2012, but they didn’t find out until they were notified by their card processor on March 21, 2013. Now, almost a year after the breach began, they will first be sending out letters to those who stayed at the Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi in Santa Fe.
A template of the notification letter that is scheduled to be mailed to consumers in June is posted on the California Attorney General’s site. The letter indicates that after their card processor notified them that they were a common point of compromise in fraudulent transactions that occurred after guests’ stays there, forensic investigators uncovered evidence that Anasazi had suffered a malware insertion that had the potential to exfiltrate names and credit card data.
While the forensic experts found no actual evidence that credit card information was in fact transmitted to the attackers, the forensic experts have concluded that the malware discovered on the Anasazi systems is consistent with that typically used to gather and transmit sensitive credit card data.
Out of an abundance of caution, we are providing this notice to you even in the absence of hard evidence that your credit card data was in fact taken by the attackers.
If the card processor identified them as a common point of compromise while investigating actual fraud incidents, that strongly suggests (if not proves) that data were exfiltrated. Their absence of evidence is not evidence of absence under the circumstances, and I wouldn’t personally consider this “an abundance of caution.”
To their credit, Anasazi specifically notes that they were not asked to delay notification, which may lead some customers to wonder or complain about the delay between discovery and notification.
Customers receiving notification letters will also be informed that AllClear SECURE and AllClear PLUS services have been arranged for them at no cost.
This breach report represents a fairly common situation, but it’s still not a situation that a hotel wants to be in.