US hospitality giant Starwood Hotels has admitted the stolen passport numbers of 20.3 million guests were not encrypted. “If offered evidence, the relevant Chinese departments will carry out investigations according to the law,” the spokesman added. The cyber attack was not as extensive as initially thought, with over five million records comprised rather than a suggested 500 million , but the failure of Marriott -owned Starwood Hotels to protect the passport data of guests gives the hackers important tracking information. While over five million passport numbers encrypted, 500 million were not. The hotel chain is now looking into universal encryption of passport information and will pay the costs of a replacement passport if the original is used fraudulently.
US hospitality giant Starwood Hotels has admitted the stolen passport numbers of 20.3 million guests were not encrypted. The cyber attack was not as extensive as initially thought, with over five million records comprised rather than a suggested 500 million , but the failure of Marriott -owned Starwood Hotels to protect the passport data of guests gives the hackers important tracking information. While over five million passport numbers encrypted, 500 million were not. The hotel chain is now looking into universal encryption of passport information and will pay the costs of a replacement passport if the original is used fraudulently.