A Vietnamese couple wipes off Hotel chains group data for FUN; Read details

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London: A couple of Vietnam, who claimed themselves as hackers, has wiped off the large amount of data of British hotels chain, Intercontinental Hotels Group for fun. The couple said that they first tried to release a ransonware in the servers of the hotels chain, however, their plan was thwarted. Then they decided to wipe off large amount of data by releasing a wiper attack.

The IHG group confirmed on Tuesday that it had been hacked. “Booking channels and other applications have been significantly disrupted since yesterday,” it informed to investors in filing with the London stock exhchange.

In order to prove their involvement in the breach, the hackers, going by the handle TeaPea, contacted the BBC using the secure messaging service Telegram.

The hackers claimed to gain the access to the most sensitive parts of Intercontinental Hotels chain’s system which was “extremely weak”. Ironically, the hackers didn’t feel any guilt about their act and the damage it caused to the hotel group.

"We don't feel guilty, really," one of them told the BBC. "We prefer to have a legal job here in Vietnam but the wage is average $300 per month. I'm sure our hack won't hurt the company a lot."

UK-based IHG has 6000 hotels across the world, with various subsidiaries Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza and Regent brands.

What is a Wiper attack?

It's a malicious software whose aim is to delete or erase the data of the host or targeted location. It is another form of malicious softwares that are used by hackers to impede the smooth process of systems.