Marriott’s data breach exposed up to 500 million guests’ data which includes names, addresses, birth dates, phone numbers, email addresses and passport numbers. Additional information stolen from some reservations includes reservation data, payment card numbers & expiration dates. Marriott received an alert in September 2018 and through the investigation discovered that unauthorized access to network began back in 2014. They stated that an unauthorized party had copied and encrypted information. Marriott reported the incident and is working with authorities as the investigation is ongoing.
The personal information exposed in this breach can make its way into the wrong hands and be used to execute attacks on the individuals affected. Those affected by this breach are at increased risk of phishing attacks and identity theft.
Marriott International has set up a website for those who are worried about the security incident. They also said they would pay for customers’ new passports “if they can prove fraud.”
