Wi-Fi Hack Attack at US Hotel Could Happen in UK

By Alan Harten

The high end American Thompson hotel chain suffered an embarrassing and thought provoking hack-attack over the weekend.

The hacker apparently managed to obtain emails sent to and from guests at the hotel, both personal and business.

He then threatened to release details of these emails if his demands were not met.

The company owns several swanky hotels in the best addresses in the US, including Manhattan, Beverly Hills and Washington DC.

The threats are bound to worry the well healed clientele of these establishments and if anything comes of the threats, lawsuits may fly in the hotels direction.

IT security consultancy Global Secure Systems is warning that there is no reason why the same thing could not happen at UK hotels with insecure Wi-Fi systems.

Most of the problems stem from open access to the Wi-Fi system for guests, which either requires no password or one single password that is common knowledge amongst staff and anyone who has stayed at the hotel.

Simple steps such as constantly changing passwords are helpful in avoiding such incidents.