Data breach discovered after hackers target hotels with malware

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte hotels were in the middle of a major data breach.

The company IHG, that owns chain hotels including the Holiday Inn, said it hired a cybersecurity firm to investigate the card readers at dozens of their hotels around the country.

IHG officials said in December, guests may have had their information compromised.

IHG identified six hotels in the Charlotte area where guests had their information compromised when they swiped their credit cards at the front desk.

Information compromised included card number, expiration date and security code.

The fraud happened between Sept. 26 and Dec. 29, 2016.

Before Sept. 29, IHG said many hotels had installed a new secure payment system. It uses a point-to-point encryption when a credit card is swiped. Those hotels were safe from the breach.

Through IHG's investigation, they learned hackers did not have access after Dec. 29.

CLICK HERE to view a list of hotels impacted by the breach.

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