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THE NEWEST THREAT TO BUSINESS TRAVELLERS - THE RISE OF THE HOTEL WIFI HACKER

Security Drivers International Ltd News and PR from Security Drivers International Ltd - Published 13 November 2015 Kapersky Lab, market leaders in IT security, have recently released a report that sheds light on a worrying trend that affects business executives staying in hotels abroad.
The so-called 'darkhotel' espionage campaign involves a team of hackers who hand-pick their targets and then go about stealing sensitive data from them. The hotel guest never even knows that their data has been stolen.

Who do they target?
CEOs, senior vice presidents, senior research & development executives and sales and marketing directors across a variety of industries. Their data often constitutes very valuable intellectual property which can be used and sold on.

Where does it happen?
Kaspersky warn that the majority of the attacks happen to high-profile individuals travelling in Japan, Taiwan, China, Russia and South Korea, but warns that you should be aware of this threat whenever you're away from your usual place of work.

How does it work?
These hackers create a connection into the hotel's wifi network and then maintain it for long periods of time, effectively lying in wait for their victims. The majority of hotel systems require the user to enter rooms numbers or other personal information to gain access to the wifi, which means that the hackers can watch out for a specific target. The hacker then dupes the hotel guest into downloading software that poses as an update for a trusted piece of software such as Windows Messenger or Once the spyware is downloaded, the intruder can then use it to install more advanced data-stealing software onto the unsuspecting guest's system.

How to stop it from happening to you
Kasperksy's advice is to start by regarding any network that you encounter whilst travelling as being potentially dangerous.

They suggest that you:

Always regard software updates as suspicious when travelling - check that the update installer is genuine.
Make sure your internet security software is comprehensive and includes more than just basic anti-virus protection
Use a VPN - a virtual private network - this will give you a safe and encrypted communication channel.
The hotel guest never even knows that their data has been stolen

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