Keep Hackers Locked Out of Hotel Rooms

It’s rare to check into any hotel today and be handed an actual door key. Global hotel chains and hotels worldwide have transitioned from the lock and keys of old to an electronic system so that guests need only swipe a card in front of the door. But researchers at F-Secure Cyber Security Services have discovered that room keys can be hacked, allowing nefarious actors entrance into any room in the building. Using an ordinary electronic key – whether it was tossed in the garbage or long expired – researchers exploited a flaw in the Vision software from VingCard (now ASSA ABLOY). Hotels worldwide rely on VingCard's electronic lock system software to secure millions of hotel rooms, yet the researchers were able to create a master key that allowed them to open any room they wished.