The New York Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation into Marriott International’s massive data breach.
In a tweet on Friday, Attorney General Barbara Underwood said, “We’ve opened an investigation into the Marriott data breach. New Yorkers deserve to know that their personal information will be protected.”
Underwood’s statement comes after Marriott disclosed that hackers breached its Starwood guest reservation database.
Approximately 500 millions guests affected
The hacking incident affected around 500 million guests who made reservation at Starwood properties on or before September 10, 2018.
Hackers compromised the personal information including names, e-mail and mailing addresses, phone number, passport details, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) account information of approximately 327 million guests. For other guests, the hackers also gained access to their credit card information, according to the company.
Marriott learned about the data breach after receiving alert from an internal security tool in September this year. The company immediately hired leading security experts to investigate it. They found that hackers illegally accessed the Starwood network, copied and encrypted information.
