Travel App Cybersecurity: Key Challenge for Mexican Tourism

The growth of Mexico’s tourism sector has been accompanied by the creation of numerous travel apps, which are being increasingly targeted by cybercriminals seeking to exploit vulnerabilities in the platforms used by airlines, agencies, and other service providers.

"Unfortunately, cybercriminals see the increased use of airline apps as an opportunity to exploit vulnerabilities and steal sensitive data," says Chris Roeckl, Chief Product Officer, Appdome, to Notipress.

Tourism is booming in Mexico. The country  received revenues in excess of US$20 billion between January and July 2024. This growth has been accompanied by the increased use of mobile apps that enable the management of reservations, ticket purchases, and coordination of tourism services. In 2023, these applications experienced a 35% growth compared to the previous year, and their use is only expected to continue growing.

As more users rely on these platforms, the exposure of personal and financial data becomes a considerable risk. Cybercriminals, upon detecting a higher volume of transactions, take advantage of vulnerabilities to execute attacks and steal sensitive information or alter transactions in real time, says Roeckl.

Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks are some of the most destructive. These attacks, which exploit weaknesses in outdated versions of communication protocols, expose sensitive data connections between applications and servers. Dynamic runtime attacks are another common threat in which attackers modify the behavior of the application while it is in use. This allows sensitive data to be obtained or payment processes and transactions to be manipulated without users or companies being aware of it.

Finally, malware remains an effective tool for cybercriminals. Techniques such as fake screen overlays are used to trick users and redirect them to malicious interfaces. These types of attacks, combined with fake applications, Trojans, and keyloggers, can further compromise the security of online transactions.