A Chinese intelligence-gathering effort was behind the massive Marriott hotels data breach that exposed the personal information of up to 500 million people, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

The hackers are believed to have been working for China's Ministry of State Security, The Times reported, citing sources who had been briefed on the investigation's preliminary results. The revelation emerges as the US Justice Department is preparing to announce new indictments against Chinese hackers working for the intelligence and military services, The Times reported.

The hotel chain revealed last month that it had discovered that hackers had compromised the guest reservation database of its Starwood division, whose brands include Sheraton, W Hotels, Westin, Le Meridien, Four Points by Sheraton, Aloft and St. Regis. Marriott said some of the stolen information also included payment card numbers and expiration dates.

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