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Some Starwood Hotels hit by malware infection

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc said payment systems at 54 of its hotels in North America had been infected with a malware designed to collect payment card data.

None of the four Starwood-operated hotels in Southern Nevada were found to be infected. They are The Westin Lake Las Vegas, Element Las Vegas in Summerlin, Four Points by Sheraton Las Vegas and the Westin Las Vegas Hotel.

A third-party investigation showed that the malware was designed to collect certain payment card information, including cardholder name, payment card number, security code and expiration date, Starwood said on Friday. However, no customer data, such as contact information or personal identification numbers, had been compromised and the malware "no longer presents a threat", the company said.

Starwood Hotels, which has agreed to be bought by Marriott International Inc, said the payment systems at the 54 hotels had been affected for varying periods between November 2014 and October 2015. Starwood Hotels owned or managed 1,222 properties, including hotels and vacation rentals, globally as of 2014. Of them, about 600 properties were in North America.

The company said the affected payment systems were at the restaurants, gift shops and other places in the hotels. The hotel chain said it has implemented additional security measures to prevent a re-occurrence.

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