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Friday, March 29, 2024

Hotel Rooms at Risk of Serious Room Key Hack

No one is a big fan of intruders, let alone being disturbed while you’re on vacation. This is a potential reality for some travelers, as it was just discovered this week that hotel guests could possibly have unwanted visitors to their room. This is all due to a design flaw in the software of electronic keys produced by Assa Abloy, formerly VingCard, that has left millions of hotel rooms worldwide vulnerable to hackers. The vulnerability could allow criminals to create master keys and open any door in the affected hotels.

First discovered by security researchers, this “master key” hack only needs a single hotel room key in order to exploit the flaw. After obtaining a key, hackers can use an RFID reader to try several key combinations to decode the card. A handful of combinations later (around 20 or so), crooks can determine the code and create a master key for the hotel. From there, the hacker can access any room his or her heart so desires. Specifically, they could potentially access hotel rooms in 166 countries and 40,000 locations.

Read more at McAfee

Hotel Rooms at Risk of Serious Room Key Hack Homeland Security Today
Homeland Security Today
The Government Technology & Services Coalition's Homeland Security Today (HSToday) is the premier news and information resource for the homeland security community, dedicated to elevating the discussions and insights that can support a safe and secure nation. A non-profit magazine and media platform, HSToday provides readers with the whole story, placing facts and comments in context to inform debate and drive realistic solutions to some of the nation’s most vexing security challenges.
Homeland Security Today
Homeland Security Todayhttp://www.hstoday.us
The Government Technology & Services Coalition's Homeland Security Today (HSToday) is the premier news and information resource for the homeland security community, dedicated to elevating the discussions and insights that can support a safe and secure nation. A non-profit magazine and media platform, HSToday provides readers with the whole story, placing facts and comments in context to inform debate and drive realistic solutions to some of the nation’s most vexing security challenges.

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