Marriott International is in the process of notifying some of its guests of a possible data breach involving a property system. 

Hotels operated and franchised under Marriott’s brands use an application to help provide services to guests at hotels.

The company said it noticed an unexpected amount of guest information may have been accessed using the login credentials of two employees at a franchise property at the end of February.

The company believes that this activity started in mid-January 2020.

Upon discovery, the company confirmed that the login credentials were disabled, immediately began an investigation, implemented heightened monitoring, and arranged resources to inform and assist guests. Marriott also notified relevant authorities and is supporting their investigations.

John Shier, Senior Security Advisor at software security and hardware company Sophos, said it was important that everyone remained vigilant in these uncertain times.

"While this one is small compared to the previous breach – Marriott reports 5.2 million affected accounts – it highlights the fact that, even during a global pandemic, criminals will not stop attacking us," he said.

"Even though no passwords, PINs, identity documents, or financial information was reportedly stolen, enough personal information was compromised that can be of use to identity thieves.

"Let's not give cybercriminals an easy win during these unprecedented times – stay vigilant against their dirty tricks."

Although Marriott’s investigation is ongoing, the company currently has no reason to believe that the information involved included Marriott Bonvoy account passwords or PINs, payment card information, passport information, national IDs, or driver’s license numbers.

At this point, the company believes that the following information may have been involved for up to approximately 5.2 million guests, although not all of this information was present for every guest involved:

• contact details (e.g., name, mailing address, email address, and phone number)
• loyalty account information (e.g., account number and points balance, but not passwords)
• additional personal details (e.g., company, gender, and birthday day and month)
• partnerships and affiliations (e.g., linked airline loyalty programs and numbers)
• preferences (e.g., stay/room preferences and language preference)

In addition to sending emails to guests involved. Marriott has also set up a dedicated website (www.mysupport.marriott.com) and call center resources with additional information for guests.

The call center resources can be reached by calling the numbers listed on the dedicated website. 

Marriott carries insurance, including cyber insurance, commensurate with its size and the nature of its operations, and the company is working with its insurers to assess coverage.

The company does not currently believe that its total costs related to this incident will be significant.

Click here for more information about the incident.

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