HOTEL HACKER: Marriott-Starwood admit the data of 500 million guests has been compromised

THE RECORDS and information of 500 million guests of the hotel chain Marriott International have been involved in a data breach.
The hotel chain, with multiple accommodations in Spain and the UK, has announced the guest reservation database of its Starwood division has been accessed by an unauthorised party.
An internal investigation discovered an unauthorised presence gained access to     the Starwood records since 2014.
Customers affected by the breach will be notified according to Marriott International.
Starwood’s hotel brands include W Hotels, Sheraton, Le Méridien and Four Points by Sheraton.
The details believed to have been accesible to the unauthorised party allegedly include customers name, mailing address, phone number, email address, passport number, date of birth, gender, arrival and departure information, reservation date and communication preferences.
It is unknown whether the alleged hackers had access to the payment details of the 500 million affected guests.
Marriott said it was alerted by an internal security tool that an unauthorised party was trying to gain access to the Starwood database.