The digital safety of numerous hotels in Indonesia has been compromised. Recent reports reveal that hackers have gained access to and tampered with hundreds of Google Business accounts belonging to hotels in various parts of Indonesia, altering their contact details and banking information.
The security breach, which came to light on Sunday, August 11, has affected approximately 369 hotels throughout Indonesia. Notable regions impacted include Central Java, East Java, Bali, and West Sumatra. The Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) has identified over 100 hotels in Bali alone that have fallen victim to these attacks.
The hackers executed their scheme by changing phone numbers and bank account details. Consequently, when victims called the altered numbers, they were met with fraudulent offers of significantly discounted room rates.
“This is a significant concern, as over 100 hotels have had their Google Business accounts hacked,” remarked I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya, Vice Chairman of PHRI Bali. He made these comments after attending the 66th anniversary celebration of Bali Province at Lapangan Renon in Denpasar on Wednesday, August 14.
The breaches were discovered by the IT teams of the affected hotels, who noticed that both WhatsApp numbers and account information on their Google Business profiles had been modified.
In response, PHRI has advised hotels to temporarily disable their compromised Google Business accounts. They also recommend that potential guests make reservations through official hotel websites or trusted travel agencies to avoid falling prey to scams.
So far, Rai reported that no hotel has reported financial losses or received complaints from guests affected by the hacks. PHRI Bali continues to compile a list of the affected hotels to submit to the police.
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Earlier, Yanti Yulianti, Secretary General of BPD PHRI Central Java Province, indicated that out of 127 hotels in Central Java that were hacked, only 10 have reported payment issues. One such instance involved a hotel guest making a reservation payment to a BRI account in NTT instead of the hotel’s legitimate account in Central Java.
The hack has impacted a total of 156 hotels in Central Java, 60 in West Sumatra, 92 in East Java, 18 in Central Sulawesi, 35 in Bandung, and 8 in Lampung.
In response to these incidents, Google Indonesia issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter), acknowledging the technical issues that led to the disruption. “We understand the issues related to business profile information. We experienced technical problems that affected the information on several business profiles,” said Google’s management in a statement on the X account @googleindonesia on Tuesday, August 13, 2024.
Google has assured users that they are working to rectify these issues, implementing measures to prevent unauthorized changes and restore accurate information.
