Mandarin Oriental Hotels & Restaurants Are Victims of Latest Credit Card Hack

Credit card hackers are at it again: This time they've targeted the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. According to security blogger KrebsOnSecurity, the upscale hotel confirmed that its hotels "have been affected by a credit card breach." The group notes on its website that of its nearly two dozen hotels around the globe, only locations in Europe and America have been hit by the breach.

KrebsOnSecurity believes that the card information — which usually ends up being sold on black market websites — is being stolen from "compromised payment terminals" at restaurants located within the hotels. However, a publicist and security spokesperson for the hotel group tells Eater that the hotel "is unsure if restaurants are affected, but updates are being posted to the website hourly." Sources tell KrebsOnSecurity that the data breach likely dates back to last Christmas. The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group adds that it is working with law enforcement agencies to investigate the matter.

The Mandarin Oriental in Tokyo recently hosted Copenhagen-based Noma for a five week pop-up. Those diners were apparently not affected by this recent breach.

It may be a good time to start paying for everything in cash: Over the past year, a number of restaurants have been affected by credit card security breaches. Last summer, pan-Asian chain P.F. Chang's revealed that 33 of its 211 restaurants across 20 states had been hacked. Shortly after in August, a number of Dairy Queens across the country fell victim to a data breach. Chicken chain Chick-fil-A revealed in January that the credit and debit card information of at least 9,000 of its customers had also been compromised.