Marriott Hack Highlights Cybersecurity Risks in Acquisitions (1)

Marriott International Inc.'s revelation of a hack involving the database of its Starwood unit highlights the hidden cybersecurity risks involved with mergers and acquisitions.

Marriott acquired Starwood for $13.6 billion in 2016. It announced Nov. 30 it had discovered unauthorized access to information on up to 500 million guests in its Starwood guest reservation database since 2014.

Even companies that thoroughly vet their targets can’t entirely avoid the possibility that they’re inheriting risks.

Data breaches in a target company’s systems can carry the intangible cost of damage to an acquiring company’s reputation, along with the actual price of discovering and ...