Easy to Hack Electronic Hotel Locks Put Customers at Risk for Personal Injury and Theft
Hotel customers are at risk for personal injury and theft after electronic lock hack how-to videos hit the internet. An undercover news anchor showed the video to major New York hotel managers who were in awe at how vulnerable the security of their customers and their personal belongings have become.
Certain electronic door locks manufactured by Onity, which are used by major hotel chains are now being re-examined by hotels after a simple hack posted online teaches viewers how devices as small as a marker can crack open a lock almost in an instant and without much effort. ABC News reported that there have been some affected hotel rooms that have announced a drive to expedited efforts to fix the locks after the reporters showed them how to disable and unlock rooms without a hotel issued key.
Popular electronic lock models manufactured by Onity, the company that considers itself a “Worldwide Leader In Electronic Locks”, are distributed to hotels chains globally. Hackers claim that they discovered a security port that was left uncovered by the company, which allows them to open any of the locks with a universal “homemade” fob.
Using an electronic device encapsulated by a magic marker, Nick Percoco of Trustwave, demonstrated to the news group the simplicity of unlocking the door. He touched the hidden device to the bottom of the lock contraption and in less than two seconds, the door unlocked for him.
“I can go down the entire hallway and unlock every single door,” Percoco told the news group. “I would say millions of people worldwide would be at risk every single day until this problem is fixed.”
Percoco stated that he was demonstrating the hidden device trick on national television to prompt the hotel industry to make an expedited change. The issue affects the personal safety of the person using the hotel room at unsuspecting times – it can lead to personal injury or theft.
The first of two options at resolving this problem includes the installation of a plug that can be manually fixed to each door lock, blocking the access of hackers but also preventing door locks from being reprogrammed. The second solution involves replacing a circuit board inside each door lock, which to date Onity has allegedly told hotels they would have to pay for, even while the problem appears to be a product defect.
Take matters into your own hands when staying at a hotel room, use in room safes, deadbolts and chains to increase your chance of safety and reduce the amount of risk.
If your hotel has neglected to fix their electronic locks and you were injured, contact our personal injury attorneys today!