On November 19, Marriott decrypted the information and determined that it was from Starwood guest reservation database. The company reported the data breach to law enforcement. It also started notifying regulators regarding the matter.
Marriott is accelerating is security improvements
In a statement, Marriott’s President and CEO Arne Sorenson, said, “We deeply regret this incident happened. We fell short of what our guests deserve and what we expect of ourselves. We are doing everything we can to support our guests, and using lessons learned to be better moving forward.”
In addition, he stressed that the company is working hard to provide answers to guests’ questions regarding their personal information. Marriott established a dedicated website and call center to answer questions regarding the data breach.
Furthermore, Sorenson stated that the company is phasing out Starwood systems and accelerating its ongoing security improvements.
On Friday, Marriott started send e-mails to affected guests. The company is offering them an opportunity to enroll in WebWatcher, free of charge for one year.
