Over the past two years, food and drink operators have learned that cyber attacks don’t just knock out tills – they can expose customer data and damage trust in ways that take years to repair. For restaurants, bars and hotels that run on online bookings, contactless payments and cloud point-of-sale, treating a reputable VPN as part of basic house rules is becoming as routine as allergen training or licensing compliance.
When UK retailers including Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods were hit by major cyber attacks, customers had to be told that personal data had been accessed, and analysts questioned whether the sector had taken digital risk seriously enough. Hospitality businesses face similar exposure: hotels and restaurants process large volumes of bookings and card payments, making them attractive targets for fraud and ransomware groups. For guest-facing operators, trust now depends on digital hygiene as much as on service standards.
Clear rules, fewer weak points
Foodservice and hospitality businesses rely on a mix of internet-connected tools – point-of-sale terminals, reservation platforms, delivery apps and supplier portals – often added over time without a single security plan. Training advisers now stress that straightforward written policies are one of the most effective ways to reduce the “attack surface”.
In practice, it means simple, consistent rules: strong passwords for booking and payment systems, multi-factor authentication for sensitive dashboards, and clear instructions not to open invoice attachments or vendor links on devices that haven’t been updated. When those rules explicitly include VPN use – “any remote access to our booking or EPOS systems must be done over the company VPN” – venues reduce both technical and human weak points.
For guests, the benefit is invisible but important: compromised terminals and hijacked reservations become less likely, and a single mistake is less likely to lead to leaked customer details.
Making encryption part of guest trust
The biggest long-term cost of a breach is often the erosion of confidence, as diners and travellers start to question whether a brand can be trusted with their data. Hospitality risk guidance now encourages operators to show – not just say – that guest information is handled responsibly, including how payments, bookings and loyalty-scheme logins are protected.
Publishing clear digital-safety guidelines is one way to do this: a short document explaining which systems are used, how long data is kept, and what tools encrypt traffic. When operators can state plainly that card transactions and bookings are routed through encrypted connections, rather than left exposed on ordinary public Wi-Fi, they offer guests a tangible reason to feel safer.
Coverage such as FoodNavigator’s report on the M&S, Co-op and Harrods incidents is already prompting operators to revisit how they talk about data protection.
Why VPNs earn a place next to fire doors and CCTV
Guidance for hotel and airport networks repeatedly notes that public Wi-Fi is “not safe by default”, with weak passwords and poorly configured routers making it easy for attackers to capture unprotected data. At the same time, managers routinely approve rotas, check revenue reports or update menus from laptops and tablets over hotel, café or home Wi-Fi, often using cloud dashboards for bookings and point-of-sale.
A business-grade VPN creates an encrypted tunnel between those devices and the systems they use, shielding traffic from anyone monitoring shared networks and reducing the chances of man-in-the-middle attacks that steal credentials. Many venues now rely on Apple devices – Mac laptops at front desks, iPads on the floor, MacBooks for marketing and finance – as standard work tools. Incorporating a reputable VPN Mac client into the organisation’s official software list is a straightforward way to ensure those devices use enterprise-grade encryption whenever they connect, whether staff are checking bookings from a hotel, processing supplier invoices on the move, or logging into delivery platforms from home.
For guests, the payoff is clear even if they never see the software: when the systems that hold their data are accessed only over encrypted channels, the chance that a stolen password or intercepted session leads to compromised profiles or leaked contact details drops sharply.
Training staff to be part of the defence
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Sector reports consistently highlight phishing and social-engineering attacks as leading routes into restaurant and hospitality systems, especially when frontline staff aren’t trained to spot red flags. Operators that have experienced incidents often describe similar patterns: staff clicking invoice links on shared PCs, using personal email accounts for business, or entering credentials into spoofed booking portals during busy shifts.
Modern guidance treats ongoing staff education as an essential part of cyber-security, alongside encryption and access controls. When teams have simple, structured rules – check sender details, verify URLs, use only approved devices, report suspicious messages – they are far more likely to catch attempted scams early. Adding one more rule to that list – “if you’re off-site or on guest Wi-Fi, the VPN must be active before you log into anything that touches customer or supplier data” – turns VPN use into a habit rather than a hope.
For guests, that combination of clear policies, visible commitment to encryption and trained staff means their personal information is treated with the same care as the food and drink they’ve come for.
