Plaintiff Lee Walters filed a lawsuit against Kimpton Hotel and Restaurant Group when

they disclosed that their guest’s payment card information card was stolen due to malware attack

from February 16th to July 7th, 2016. Mr. Walters stayed at Kimpton hotel on December 28th,

2015, and May 29th, 2016, during the malware attach happening. He claimed that his payment

card information was stolen, thus his credit and identity were at high risk.

In April 13th, 2017, California federal judges denied Kimpton’s motion to dismiss the

complaint for lack of standing. Even though the plaintiff does not suffer any misuse of this data

or unauthorized charges, he still has an injury for standing purpose. Besides, the motion to

dismiss the claim about implied contract was also denied since they automatically committed to

protect their guest’s personal information and privacy when they offer services. Additionally,

Mr. Walters actually suffer damages such as purchasing credit-monitoring services and other

expenses, so the judge also denied the motion to dismiss the negligence claim of Kimpton.

As hotel managers, we all need to know the importance of customer’s information

privacy. The court can make decision nut just based on actual damage but the imminent harm. It

is way hard to prepare and fix whenever a cyber attack happens. It is an example for all the

manager to anticipate and well prepare for legal attacks from all sides, including regulators,

shareholders, and consumers. Besides, companies should invest in their computer system and

software to protect its data. All employees need to be trained in cyber security principles, so they

know what to do to protect their own information and company’s data. Hotel also can purchase

insurance for its cybersecurity. Besides safeguarding hotel data before an attack, hotel should

have back up from insurance if the attack occurs. Insurance can help hotel pay for notifications

to let their guests aware of the situation or pay for their ongoing credit monitoring. Cyberattack

can happen to any organization, prepare and have a good plan to respond is important to

minimize its damages.