Deals
Marriott's $13.6 Billion Starwood Deal Bought Security Risk
- Marriott saw SPG loyalty program as boost to business travel
- Cyber breach exposed Starwood customer details since 2014
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Marriott International’s $13.6 billion purchase of Starwood Hotel & Resorts was a bet that its popular loyalty program would bring more travelers to its Courtyards and Residence Inns. It turns out Marriott was also buying a massive security risk.
A cyber breach in Starwood’s reservation system had allowed unauthorized access since 2014, the company said today. Hackers accessed records on as many as 500 million guests, in many cases including passport numbers, travel histories and loyalty program accounts, and even some encrypted credit card data.