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Hacker accused of massive Huazhu Hotels Group data breach arrested
China’s Huazhu Hotels Group Ltd announced police arrested a hacker who is suspected of trying to sell personal data on millions of its customers on the dark web.
The hotel company confirmed last month that a data breach took place which was one of the largest of its kind in China.
The hack contained about 500 million data records relating to customer name, credit card details, log-in IDs and hotel stay registration data.
Shanghai police said a 30-year old man named only as Lui had hawked the data on a dark web hacking forum, asking for eight bitcoin, worth more than $50,000.
In a note to investors, the hotel group said Lui was unsuccessful in selling the data and also attempted to blackmail the company with a ransom demand.
"To comply with laws and police protocols, the Company cannot disclose additional information on the case at this time," a Huazhu spokesperson said.
Huazhu is one of China’s largest hotel companies, operating more than 5,000 properties.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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