Millions of UK guests of the hotel chain Marriott International Inc (NASDAQ:MAR) have been included in a legal action filed in London following a huge data breach that went on for four years.
Details including credit card and passport numbers of 339mln customers were stolen between 2014 and 2018 from the database of a company owned by the US group.
Britain’s data watchdog, the ICO, said that records of around 7mln UK customers were accessed when it proposed a £99.2mln fine for the hotel chain last year.
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages for loss of control of personal data and automatically includes any English or Welsh customer who made a reservation at a Starwood, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts and St Regis hotels before September 10, 2018.
Other legal actions were lodged in the US and Canada.
Marriott acquired Starwood in 2016, but the ICO said it should have carried out better due diligence and done more to secure its systems.
Martyn Bryant, from tech consultancy Big Revolution is leading the action and is being represented by law firm Hausfeld with Harbour Litigation providing the financial backing.
“I hope this case will raise awareness of the value of our personal data, result in fair compensation,” he said in a statement.
The high court action comes just days after cruise operator Carnival PLC (LON:CCl) said it had suffered a ransomware attack that had seen hackers download customer details.