Onity Hotel Keycard Lock Can Be Hacked. Our firm is investigating a potential class action lawsuit on behalf of consumers and/or burglary victims who stayed at select hotels that use the Onity keycard lock. These electronic hotel locks, which are used in about 4 million hotel rooms around the world, can be hacked and opened with a simple home-made device, according to a report in Forbes magazine. Thieves who use the device leave no sign of forced entry, and can open the door in only a few seconds. Hotel chains were reportedly aware of this issue for months, but did not take adequate measures to protect their customers. If you were a guest or had your personal items stolen while staying at a hotel room with an Onity keycard lock, our attorneys would like to speak with you. Contact Parker Waichman today for a free, no-obligation evaluation of your case.
Locks May be Hacked in 4 Million Hotel Rooms
Onity keycard locks can be opened by a simple home-made device that exploits a vulnerability in the system. The hack was first publicized by Cody Brocious, a Mozilla developer and security researcher who demonstrated at the July 2012 Black Hat security conference that he could open the keyless locks using a device made with $50 worth of materials. The device, which is small enough to hide inside a marker, works when it is inserted into the DC port on the underside of the lock; it takes advantage of the lock’s memory, which stores data about its opening mechanism.
But you don’t have to be a hacker, or even technologically well-versed, to make the device. According to NBC News, nearly anyone can go online and watch a step-by-step video to make the device in a half hour.
Onity keycard locks are installed in some 4 million hotel rooms worldwide. Many of these are in popular and well-known hotel chains, including:
Referenced Hotels |
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| WALDORF ASTORIA, New York, USA |
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DOUBLE TREE (by Hilton) | |
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HYATT PLACE | |  |
HYATT HOUSE | ||
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MARRIOTT MARQUIS, Times Square, NY, USA |
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COUNTRY INN & SUITES | ||
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HYATT REGENCY, Pier 66, Florida, USA |
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RAMADA PLAZA HOTEL, Newark Airport |
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CARLTON HOUSE, New York, USA |
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HILTON PARIS, Las Vegas, NV, USA |
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SHERATON, Stamford, Connecticut, USA |
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SHERATON, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA |
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Hotels Aware of Lock Problems, Hotel Guests Left Vulnerable
Hotel chains have been aware of the problem since July 2012, but little has been done to truly address the issue, reports NBC. Five months after the security flaw was exposed, investigators found that some hotels were still completely unaware of the problem. NBC reporter Jeff Rosen posed the question to Joe McInerny, president of the industry group representing hotels. “Bottom line, the hotel industry has known about this problem for five months, and while you and Onity work this out about who’s going to pay for what and when it’s going to happen, doesn’t that leave hotel guests vulnerable?” McInerny claims that they are trying to find a solution, but was unable to give a timeline about when the keyless locks would be fixed.
Meanwhile, guests who stay at hotels that use these flawed smart card locks are advised to use the security chain, leave valuable items in the safe box, or take the items with them.
Legal Help for Victims Affected by Onity Keycard Locks
If you stayed in a hotel room using an electronic Onity keycard lock and/or were a victim of burglary, you may have valuable legal rights. To find out more about our Onity keycard lock class action lawsuit, please fill out our online form or call 1(800)-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529) to speak with one of our experienced product liability lawyers today.
Sources:
Forbes:Security Flaw In Common Keycard Locks Exploited In String Of Hotel Room Break-Ins
News C|Net:Known keycard hack suspected in hotel room burglary
Huffingtonpost:Security Flaw In Hotel Door Locks Leaves Guests Vulnerable To Crime
The Full Referenced Hotel List
- MARRIOTT MARQUIS,Times Square, NY, USA
- SHERATON,West Palm Beach, Florida, USA
- HYATT REGENCY,Pier 66, Florida, USA
- SHERATON,Stamford, Connecticut, USA
- HOTEL MULIA,Jakarta, Indonesia
- CHEJU,Shilla, South Korea
- INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT HOTEL,Shanghai, China
- SHANGRI-LA,Dalian, China
- MARRIOTT CHAMPS ELYSEES,Paris, France
- UKRAINA,Moscow, Russia
- MOSKVA,Moscow, Russia
- SUNBORN YACHT,Naantali, Finland
- THE SHELBOURNE,Dublin, Ireland
- RITZ,Lisbon, Portugal
- LOS DELFINES,Lima, Peru
- HYATT PALACE,Almaty-Kazakhstan
- LEDRA MARRIOTT,Athens, Greece
- SHANGRI-LA,Singapore, Singapore
- MELIÁ,CANCÚN, Mexico
- TERMAS DE CHILLÁN,Chile
- HOLIDAY INN CONCEPCIÓN,Chile
- EUROPA LA PAZ,Bolivia
- TRANSAMÉRICA SALVADOR,Brazil
- INTER-CONTINENTAL SAO PAULO,Brazil
- ASTOR GOLDBOROUGH,Sydney, Australia
- REEF CASINO,Cairns, Australia
- CARLTON HOUSE,New York, USA
- RADISSON,Antigua, Guatemala
- MARRIOTT,Barbados
- GRAND BAHAMA BEACH,Bahama Islands
- HYATT COOLUMS RESORT,Queensland, Australia
- FORUM,London, UK
- ROGNER-BAD,Blumau, Austria
- MARE NOSTRUM RESORT,Tenrife, Spain
- MELIÁ PLAYA CONCHAL,Costa Rica
- OURO MINAS BELO HORIZONTE,Brazil
- SWISSÛTEL,Dalian, China
- BAY YOKE,Bangkok, Thailand
- ROYAL VIKING,Stockholm, Sweden
- NEW STANLEY,Nairobi, Kenya
- HILTON,Madinah, Saudi Arabia
- HERODS SHERATON RESORT,Eilat, Israel
- EMBAJADOR OCCIDENTAL,Dominican Republic
- DUXTON HOTEL,Perth, Australia
- MARRIOTT PLAZA,Buenos Aires, Argentina
- SHERATON,Mar De Plata, Argentina
- GRAN MELIA,Caracas, Venezuela
- HOLIDAY INN,Pune, India
- AMWAJ ROTANA HOTEL & RESORT,Jumeirah Beach Residence, UAE
- BAVARIA EXECUTIVE SUITES,UAE
- BVLGARI HOTELS & RESORTS,Italy
- CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL,Jumeirah Beach Residence, UAE
- GRAND HYATT SINGAPORE,Singapore
- HILTON BUDAPEST,Hungary
- HILTON DUBROVNIK,Croatia
- HILTON JEDDAH,Saudia Arabia
- HILTON PRAGUE,Czech Republic
- INTERCONTINENTAL PYRAMIDS PARK,Egypt
- JW MARRIOTT BEIJING,China
- LE MAURICIA,Mauritius
- LE MERIDIEN LILINGWE,Malawi
- MARRIOTT EXECUTIVE APARTMENTS,UAE
- MOVENPICK RESORT KUWAIT CITY,Kuwait
- THE CUMBERLAND LONDON,UK
- THE FAIRMONT DUBAI,UAE
- THE WESTCLIFF,South Africa
Need Legal Help Regarding Onity Hotel Keycard Lock?
The personal injury attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP offer free, no-obligation case evaluations. For more information, fill out our online contact form or call 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529).