A Wake-Up Call at Check-In

As a resort owner, general manager, IT leader or executive in the Caribbean hospitality sector, the growing threat of cyberattacks should be top of mind and may be keeping you up at night. In March 2025, a ransomware attack hit a resort group using the popular Otelier booking platform. Guests could not check in, door-locks froze, and staff had no access to payment terminals. The breach did not even originate from the resort; it was upstream, in their SaaS vendor. Recovery took days causing significant operational disruptions and affected the guest experience and no doubt, causes losses.

Unfortunately, this is no longer unusual.

Tourism is projected to contribute $86 billion (18.2% of regional GDP) to the Caribbean economy in 2025. This growing dependency makes the sector an increasingly attractive target and a vulnerable industry for regional economies. Organisations in the region now face 2,582 cyber-attacks per week, 40% higher than the global average. Jamaica alone logged 4 million attacks in the first half of 2024. As hospitality executives and key decision makers, the implications for guest experiences, business continuity and compliance violations are immense.

Caribbean resorts are now on every cybercriminal’s map, and attackers know exactly where the weak spots are.

Why Resorts Are Attractive Targets

• Guest data is rich Payment info, passports, and loyalty profiles, everything attackers need to steal identities or resell data.

• Operational Technology (OT) is mission-critical When Smart locks, PoS terminals, and HVAC systems go down, so does check-ins and revenue.

• Seasonal staff are soft targets High turnover leaves resorts with novice hires susceptible to phishing and mishandling of credentials.

• Vendor partners create unseen risk The Otelier supply-chain breach exposed millions of bookings; including resorts not infected with the malware but connected to their platform.

2025 Cyber Threat Landscape: By the Numbers

• 4 million attempted attacks on Jamaica in H1 2024 (Fortinet)

• 52 successful breaches in Trinidad & Tobago in 2023, up from 35 in 2021 (Newsday)

• 14,000 known hospitality tech vulnerabilities, 61.5% exploited for access (Trustwave 2025)

• $4.88 million: average global cost of a data breach (IBM, 2024)

Top 3 Ways Symptai’s ethical hackers have bypassed client safeguards in our last 200 Penetration Tests

• 42% Improperly Configured Devices and Systems (Symptai)

• 16% Ineffective Patch Management Controls

• 11% Insufficient Cryptography

Regulations Are Catching Up

• Jamaica’s Data Protection Act Regulations (2024): mandatory breach reporting within 72 hours

• Barbados Data Protection Act: up to BBD 500,000 in penalties for non-compliance

• Tourism authorities in several countries now require annual cyber-readiness audits for licensing.

The Zero Trust to the Shoreline Playbook

Zero Trust is no longer optional—it’s how secure resorts are run. Here's how to apply it:

1. Verify Every User and Device

Enforce phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication. Register all smart locks, PoS terminals, and staff devices in a secure MDM platform.

2. Segment Shore, Core, and Cloud

Create isolated VLANs for guest Wi-Fi, internal networks, and cloud systems. Deny internal traffic between them unless explicitly required.

3. Know Your Third-Party Risk

Demand SOC2 or ISO 27001 certification from all vendors.

4. Detect and Recover Fast

Use 24/7 managed detection and response (MDR) services. Add AI-based phishing filters in Creole, Spanish, and French. Implement 3-2-1 immutable backups.

Don’t Forget the Human Firewall

• Run weekly 3–10 minute digital Cyber security micro-trainings for all staff, especially temporary hires. Gamify it for greater compliance.

• Add a “Report Phish” button to every staff inbox.

• Conduct a tabletop drill with CERTs that simulates ransomware during a hurricane.

• Get a Dark Web Monitoring subscription to know when your digital assets are exposed and to remediate them.

Final Word: Cyber-Ready Is Guest-Ready

Cyberattacks do not wait for off-season. A single breach can compromise guest trust, brand reputation, and the bottom line. Adopting Zero Trust to the Shoreline is like boarding up before a storm: it protects what matters most people, operations, and continuity.

At Symptai we offer end-to-end cybersecurity solutions that not only safeguard your resort’s infrastructure but also ensure compliance with data privacy regulations. Our experts will guide you through every step of building cyber resilience.

Ready to protect your guests? Contact us today for a comprehensive cybersecurity assessment and start building a resilient, secure infrastructure for tomorrow.