Malware: Hotel and accommodation, Switzerland 2018
One evening, the manager of a hotel in the Zurich region opened a job application because the hotel was looking for staff at the time.
- Incident · 11.2018 · Zurich region, Switzerland
- Evidence: one media report
- Malware
- Deception (social engineering)
As of
What happened
The attached CV contained a Trojan that became active when the Word document was opened. According to the hotelier, no sensitive data was affected, only cleaning schedules and banquet planning.
- Affected
- Company (anonymous)
- Industry
- Hotel and accommodation
- Loss
- no reliable figure
- Business interruption
- unknown
- Ransom demanded / paid
- unknown / unknown
- Data affected
- according to the hotelier, only cleaning schedules and banquet planning
- Bankruptcy
- no
- Entry point
- Job application email with a Word CV
What would cyber insurance have paid?
That depends on the terms. Whether those affected were insured: unknown.
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Immediate help in an emergency
Hotline, IT forensics, crisis PR and legal advice
Mostly covered 7 of 9 business products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
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Costs of getting data, software and systems running again
Mostly covered 6 of 9 business products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
Overview based on public policy terms, as of 06.11.2026. Only your policy and its general terms and conditions (GTC) are binding. No confirmation of cover.
What we can learn
Job applications with attachments are a popular lure; unknown files and macros should be blocked.
Sources
- Metzger Wechsler und die Hacker (opens in a new window) Magazinbeitrag, Ausgabe 01/2019 (Hannes von Wyl, Florian Kalotay), PDF-Auszug auf compass-security.com · 2019
«Im angehängten Lebenslauf befand sich ein Trojaner»