Paraskevas, Alexandros ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1556-5293 (2026) Cyber Risk & Resilence Quarterly - 2026 Q1. Technical Report. University of West london.

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Abstract

The first quarter of 2026 saw a high number of cyberattacks on hotel groups, restaurant and food service operators, tourism businesses and their technology providers. This edition documents 24 confirmed incidents, eleven active threat actor profiles, and the ongoing PHALT#BLYX campaign against Booking.com.

The quarter was defined by identity. Stolen login details and social engineering opened the largest breaches. Ransomware groups combined encryption with data theft to push victims into paying. Operational disruption was a key feature, with payment terminals, ticketing systems and building controls taken offline at four organisations. Class action lawsuits followed within weeks at Panera Bread, Wynn Resorts and Choice Hotels.

The report maps each incident against five stages of a typical attack. It assesses the groups responsible, looks at how breaches were turned into money, and sets out the legal and regulatory exposure across Japanese, UK and US regimes. The recommendations follow the control failures observed during the quarter.

Item Type:	Report (Technical Report)
Subjects:	Computing > Information security > Cyber security
Date Deposited:	27 Jul 2026
Dates:	Date Publication status 30 May 2026 Published Online
School, department or research centre:	London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism
URI:	https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/15267
Sustainable Development Goals:	Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

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