Marriott has Suffered a Data Breach
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- By Patrick Ryan
- Jul 13, 2022
The massive global hotel chain Marriott has been digitally breached yet again. Marriott International revealed the breach earlier this week. The silver lining is that a Marriott spokesperson noted the company's core network was not compromised in the attack. Here's a quick look at the details of the breach.
What Information Did Hackers Steal in the Breach?
Hackers allegedly stole upwards of 20 gigabytes of information. However, Marriott representatives have gone out of their way to note that the stolen information was non-sensitive. According to a Marriott spokesperson, the breach centers on global business data that is not of considerable value. In particular, the stolen files supposedly center on the details of its location near the Baltimore airport.
However, according to Databreaches.net, the hackers allegedly shared stolen information, including records of hotel reservations for flight crews. They can access information about those professionals, such as their names, job titles, credit card numbers, and more.
Is This the Only Marriott Data Breach?
According to Marriott International, this is not the lone data breach suffered by the company. Marriott also endured a second data breach that likely impacted nearly 400 customers. Furthermore, those who pay close attention to the digital security landscape are well aware of the fact that Marriott has lost significant amounts of customer information to hackers in previous years.
How did the Breach Occur?
Marriott representatives have not provided many details about the breach. However, a company spokesperson stated that the breach included an attempt to extort money. The hotel chain refused to pay the requested sum of money. Marriott's internal IT team says the breach's access vector links to a social engineering attack. The breach was short-lived and limited to the computing system of a single associate.
Who is Behind the Attack?
The hackers' identity is unknown as of the time of this publication. However, hackers communicated that they stole over 200 gigs of corporate data, noting that the company's security is insufficient.
How did Marriott Respond to the Breach?
Marriott stated it is reaching out to anyone with compromised data from the breach. All in all, about 400 such people will be contacted by the hotel chain. Marriott also reached out to law enforcement and regulators to investigate the breach.
Will Marriott Bounce Back From the String of Attacks?
Rewind to 2020, and Marriott suffered a breach that compromised the data of more than five million customers. It is clear that Marriott's digital security measures are lacking. Customers have sued the hotel chain for failing to implement the proper security measures, including defenses as simple and commonplace as multifactor authentication for access to databases with sensitive information containing valuable details about guests. Stay tuned as Marriott's digital security shortcomings will be square in the spotlight moving forward.
