Marriott’s Starwood hack hits up to 500 million customers

A Marriott flag hangs at the entrance of the New York Marriott Downtown hotel in Manhattan, New York November 16, 2015. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/Files

Marriott International Inc said on Nov 30 that hackers accessed up to 500 million customer records in its Starwood Hotels reservation system in an attack that began four years ago, exposing data including passport numbers and payment cards.

Shares were down 5.7% in late afternoon trade on news of the hack, one of the largest in history, which prompted regulators in Britain and at least five US states to launch investigations.