A class action lawsuit has been launched against Marriott Hotels seeking damages for 339 million guests whose personal information was breached in a cyberattack.
Beginning in 2014, the Starwood Hotels database for guest reservations was the target of a cyberattack, according to Tech Crunch. Hackers violated personal data of guests in the breach.
The Marriott data breach is reportedly one of the biggest data breaches in history. Marriott International now includes the Starwood Hotels group, which includes Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, St. Regis hotels and others.
The Marriott data breach class action lawsuit has been filed in London, brought by millions of guests of Starwood Hotels who allegedly had their personal data violated, This Is Money reported.
The lead plaintiff is Martin Bryant, the founder of technology and media consultancy Big Revolution.
The Marriott data breach class action lawsuit says English and Welsh Starwood Hotel guests had personal information such as passport and credit card data violated between 2014 and 2018. Bryant claims Starwood Hotels did not protect the personal information of millions of guests.
The Marriott data breach started in 2014 when the cyberattack on the Starwood Hotels’ system began.
Hackers were able to obtain hotel guests names, addresses, telephone numbers, credit card information and more.
However, the Marriott data breach was not discovered until 2018, and hotel guests were notified two months later. Marriott reported the incident to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States.
Within hours of the announcement, a lawsuit was filed in a Maryland federal court, and more lawsuits followed in the U.S. and Canada.
The Marriott data breach class action lawsuit is demanding an unknown amount of damages against Starwood Hotels for the violation of personal data.
The class action lawsuit includes any guest of Starwood Hotels between 2014 and Sept. 10, 2018.
Approximately 7 million Britons had their personal data violated in the Marriott data breach, according to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The representative plaintiff is being represented by Hausfeld, a law firm that specialises in class action-style lawsuits.
“Over a period of several years, Marriott International failed to take adequate technical or organisational measures to protect millions of their guests’ personal data which was entrusted to them,” Hausfeld partner Michael Bywell said in a statement. “Marriott International acted in clear breach of data protection laws specifically put in place to protect data subjects.”
According to a statement by Martin, he says personal data is becoming increasingly more important as people spend more time online.
He says consumers may not be knowledgable about the risks of violated personal information, but he hopes the class action lawsuit will bring awareness to how personal data should be respected.
He hopes for “fair compensation” for the victims of the Marriott data breach and a wake-up call for big companies to hold personal data securely.
Martin has written about the case on his personal website, stating: “It’s become a depressingly familiar situation. You get an email from a company telling you that they’ve suffered a data breach and your personal information was stolen. You sigh, you shrug, and then you forget about it — because you’re powerless. You can’t get that personal data back. It might end up being used for identity theft or fraud, and there’s nothing you can do about it. But the fact is there should be recompense. If a major corporation suffers a breach because it didn’t do everything it could to protect your data, and the worst it suffers is a fine for breaking data protection rules, there’s little incentive for anything to really change.”
Eligible U.K. citizens who were guests of any of the Starwood Hotels before 10 September 2018 can participate in the class action-style lawsuit. Eligible guests of Starwood Hotels can join the class action lawsuit without any fees or costs.
The lawsuit is being funded by Harbour Litigation Funding.
Were you a guest at Starwood Hotels between 2014 and 10 September 2018? Do you plan to join the class action-style lawsuit? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
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One thought on Marriott Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Data Breach
I would not join. To do so only further distributes my data, and that is precisely what I am out to avoid. Seriously why would I want more parties (the class action administrator, and the legal team) to have access to my name, address, etc in exchange for some petty sum?