Last Friday, a cyber attack was carried out on the Verkehrsbüro Group, including Austria Trend Hotels, Hofer Reisen, the travel agencies Ruefa and the Kitzbühel-based Eurotours. Almost a week later, the group’s IT services were still affected.
For example, online bookings were sometimes not possible on Thursday, a spokeswoman for the group confirms. Immediately after the attack became known, an “international team of cybercrime and data forensics specialists” was appointed. Work is currently being carried out on “accurate analysis, rapid elimination of malfunctions and, above all, the restoration of normal and safe operations”. A criminal complaint had also been filed with authorities, company spokesman Andrea Hansal said.
“Valid statements” about the extent of the damage or the extent of the lost online bookings cannot yet be made, Hansal said. Whether and to what extent customer data will be affected by the attack is still the subject of ongoing investigations, the spokeswoman continues. Payments would “in most cases” be processed by third-party payment service providers.
No Hofer Reisen customer data stolen
The tour operator says that customer data from Hofer Reisen has not been stolen. “Regardless of the personal customer information, our customers’ credit card information is not affected in any way, as the payments are processed by various third-party payment service providers (bank or credit card institutions) and this information is not available to us,” it says. was emphasized.
The services of the Verkehrsbüro Group, Austria’s largest travel company, were affected “to varying degrees” on Thursday, Hansal explained. For example, the Hofer Reisen website is currently not available. However, the online bookings on the Ruefa Reisen website are “slightly affected”. In any case, travel agencies are “open as normal” and can “serve”. The spokeswoman for the company emphasizes that they can still be reached by phone.
Austria Trend Hotels were also hit by the attack. There they do it with ’emergency plans’. Check-in and check-out are still “possible” – the chip cards work. It can also be normally consumed in the hotels, Hansal informed.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
