Vulnerability In Hotel Wi-Fi Router Could Be A Risky Proposition

One of the perks of staying at a hotel these days would be having free Internet connectivity, but just how secure is the Internet connection at a hotel? Apparently, guests could end up being victims of serious hacking incidents due to the kind of routers that many hotel chains use to propagate their Wi-Fi networks. Apparently, researchers have found a vulnerability in the systems, where an attacker is able to distribute malware to guests, not to mention monitor and record data which are being sent over the network, with the possibility of accessing the hotel’s reservation and keycard systems.

This particular security hole will involve an authentication vulnerability in the firmware of several models of InnGate routers that are churned out by ANTlabs. ANTlabs happens to be a Singapore firm, and their products currently see action in the likes of hotels located around the US, Europe and in other places.

Security firm Cylance takes credit for discovering this security loophole that will open up the door for attackers to gain direct access to the root file system of the ANTlabs devices, which in turn will then be able to let them copy configuration and other files from the devices’ file system. At the end of the day, this loophole also enables one to write any other file to the device’s file system, and this includes the crucial ones which could then infect the computers of respective Wi-Fi users.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Computers
Tags: Hacking, router