Hotel giant, Marriott Hotels, has been hit with another data breach, falling victim to 20GB of data being stolen by an unknown threat actor. This has an alarming knock-on effect, impacting 300-400 of guests, leaving people questioning what is the best way to secure the increasingly attacked cybersecurity sector.
Bill Conner, CEO and President at SonicWall, also a GCHQ and NCSC advisor, has stated the criticality of this trend: “The recent breach of Marriott International is a stark example of the tireless work cybercriminals undertake to steal personal information. Not only does the Marriott breach damage brand reputation, but it also puts customers in a vulnerable position when sensitive information is comprised like passport numbers, credit card details and more.
“Organisations should learn from breaches like this by taking the opportunity to ensure there are no gaps in their systems for criminals to leverage, stopping them at the edge before they have a chance to infiltrate the network. Once they’re in, they’re able to move laterally to identify the sensitive data that’s highly valued on the Dark Web. This incident also spotlights the serious need for due diligence when evaluating an organisation’s cybersecurity during the M&A process.”
