Massive Data Breach At Marriott's Starwood Hotels Could Impact 500 Million
BETHESDA, Md. (CBS/AP) — As many as 500 million people may be impacted by a massive data breach at Marriott's Starwood hotels.
Information of people staying at Starwood hotels was compromised and Marriott says it's uncovered unauthorized access that's been taking place within its Starwood network since 2014.
There are 122 Starwood hotels in Massachusetts and 26 in New Hampshire. Among the Starwood hotels in Boston are Element Seaport, The Liberty, Sheraton Boston, W Boston, the Westin Waterfront and the Westin Copley Place.
The company said Friday that credit card numbers and expiration dates of some guests may have been taken.
Marriott said that there was a breach of its database in September, which had guest information related to reservations at Starwood properties on or before Sept. 10.
Marriott discovered through the investigation that someone copied and encrypted guest information, and says it's now working toward removing the information.
The company said it has not finished identifying duplicate information in the database. It believes the database contains information of about 500 million guests who made a reservation at a Starwood property.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey released a statement following the breach.
"We've opened an investigation into Marriott's Starwood data breach. This breach may have compromised the information of millions and the public deserves to know how this happened," Healey said.
Marriott has set up a website and call center for anyone who thinks that they are at risk, and on Friday will begin sending emails to those affected.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)