500 Million Hotel Guests Hit by Massive Marriott Data Breach

One of the largest cybercrime cases in the history of the hotel industry came to light when it was revealed that hackers had gained unauthorized access to Marriott's Starwood reservation database, exposing the sensitive personal information of up to 500 million hotel guests.

The affected hotel brands include W, St. Regis, Sheraton, and Westin, among others. According to available sources, the hackers first gained access in 2014 and continued undetected for years.

Extensive Personal Data Exposed

The compromised data includes names, addresses, passport and ID numbers, dates of birth, email addresses, and credit card information. Although the credit card details were encrypted, the hackers may potentially have obtained access to the encryption keys. Marriott has been unable to confirm whether the attackers succeeded in decrypting the credit card information.

Undetected for Nearly Four Years

The fact that hackers moved freely within Marriott's systems for approximately four years without being detected highlights serious data breach security failures at the hotel chain. The breach was publicly announced on a Friday — a timing that is widely regarded as a corporate tactic to limit media coverage.