The international hotel chain says criminal hackers tricked an employee into giving up access to a computer.

The cybersecurity community and Capitol Hill are watching closely.

The plaintiff, a U.K. resident, is seeking unspecified damages.

It's the second significant security incident to hit the hospitality giant in the last 16 months.

It's one of the first bug bounty programs by a major hospitality brand.

The breach is the one of the largest ever reported and is under investigation by at least five U.S. states as well as European regulators.