Marriott said it was the target of a recent data breach. Social engineering techniques were used to gain access to an employee's computer. The person or group behind the attack tried to extort Marriott, but the company wouldn't pay up.

The hackers were able to get into Marriott's network for a short time. The company told CyberScoop that it was already looking into the incident. It just came to light that the incident took place a month ago. Between 300 and 400 people will be notified by Marriott as required.

The hackers gained access to a server at BWI Airport Marriott in Maryland, according to DataBreaches. They provided the publication with a picture of reservation documents for flight crews, along with credit card numbers for airlines and travel agencies.

Most of the information was non-sensitive internal business files, according to Marriott. It's not clear what kind of data was included. The Marriott company has been contacted by Engadget.

According to DataBreaches, Marriott has had at least seven data security incidents in the last four years. In November of last year, there was a notable case. The company said that hackers gained access to the reservation database of its subsidiary and obtained personal information of as many as 383 million guests. There were over 5 million passport numbers included in the data. Marriott was fined over the incident by the Information Commissioner's Office.