Marriott faces cyber-attack exposing 500 mn guests info

Marriott International said on Friday that hackers accessed its Starwood Hotels brand’s reservation database since 2014, potentially exposing personal information on about 500 million guests, Reuters reported.
IoT hotel room in MarriottHackers could have accessed 327 million guests’ personal information including passport details, phone numbers and email addresses. For some others, it could include credit card information.

The company said it learned about the breach after an internal security tool sent an alert on September 8. The hotel chain’s investigation found that hackers had hacked the data long before.

The company, which bought Starwood in 2016, said it reported the incident to law enforcement and had begun notifying regulatory authorities.

Marriott said it would send emails to affected guests, starting Friday.

“We are devoting the resources necessary to phase out Starwood systems and accelerate the ongoing security enhancements to our network,” Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said.

Bruce Hoffmeister is the global CIO of Marriot.

Marriott said it was too early to estimate the financial impact of the breach and that it would not affect its long-term financial health. It also said it was working with its insurance carriers to assess the coverage.

Hotel groups have of late become a target of hackers, seeking to steal information such as credit card data.

Last year, both InterContinental Hotels Group and Hyatt Hotels were victims of cyber-attacks.

Hyatt said it discovered unauthorized access to payment card information at certain of its locations, affecting 41 properties in 11 countries.

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