A report released by a US-based IT security firm has claimed that a number of hotels in Ireland are using wifi technology that is vulnerable to hacking.
According to the Irish Independent, the IT consultancy company Cyclance has warned Irish hotels, along with others based in Europe, that personal details and booking information are at risk due to easily hacked wifi.
Cyclance claims that a low level of sophistication in the hotels' wifi security means that even high priority targets could be targeted by hackers.
"An attacker exploiting this new vulnerability could infect specific targets or anyone who connects via wifi through it with malware, gain access to personal credentials (and) guest booking details and point of sale information," said Justin Clarke, a senior security researcher for Cyclance.
Although the flaw, which affects a commonly-used router, can be easily fixed, it must be done manually and has not been done by many hotels in Ireland.
Hotels have been under scrutiny for the protecting customers' details on their wifi. Industry experts now recommend using a smartphone as a hotspot if the guest is wary of the security levels.
