BEIJING : Beijing opposes any groundless allegations and calls for evidence to be provided in relation to the Chinese government’s alleged involvement in the massive data breach at the Marriott International hotel group, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said Thursday.
Hackers broke into the database of the Marriott hotel chain on November 19 and reportedly left traces suggesting that they were involved in intelligence gathering for the Chinese government. “China firmly opposes all forms of cyberattacks and, if there is any proof, it should be presented to the Chinese side, and the relevant authorities will investigate the case in accordance with the law ... China strongly opposes any groundless accusations on cybersecurity issues,” Geng said at a briefing.
In November, Mariott International, the world’s largest hotel chain, reported about a breach of its Starwood reservation system, which resulted in the theft of data of up to 500 million guests. Information on 327 million guests included names, postal and email addresses, phone numbers, passport details, birth dates, gender, and check-in records.