NEWS
Lock maker, hotels work on security flaw shown in ABC report
By Danny King
A leading maker of electronic hotel locks
said that it is working with hoteliers to upgrade an undetermined number of locks
after an ABC News report late last month
demonstrated how a security expert using
a hacking device could break into hotel
rooms within seconds.
Onity, which says it has installed 3. 7 million electronic locks worldwide since 1984,
is working with hoteliers such as Marriott
International and InterContinental Hotels
Group (IHG) to upgrade locks believed to be
at risk.
Onity declined to discuss specifics about
the number of locks that might be affected or
the timeframe of the repairs.
Onity, a division of the conglomer-
ate United Technologies Corp. and sister
company to both Otis Elevator and Pratt
& Whitney aircraft, was put on alert after
the ABC News report showed an executive
with the security-consulting firm Trustwave
breaking into a room at New York’s Holi-
day Inn Express Times Square in less than
two seconds by using a device hidden in a
marker.
Marriott International released a statement, saying: “We are aware of the reports
that some hotel guestroom locks manufactured by Onity could potentially be unlocked by inserting a hardware device that
hacks into the computer software located
inside the locks.
“We are in the process of implementing
solutions provided by Onity to resolve the
issue as quickly as possible.”
Hertz reaps rewards of renting to younger drivers
By Kate Rice
Hertz has been successfully renting cars to
drivers as young as 20, finding that even
though drivers between the ages of 20 and
25 are a higher risk than the market at large,
they’re a profitable segment.
Hertz has been renting to the under-25
segment for about seven years, starting first
with the 21-to-25 age group. About three
years ago, Hertz began renting to drivers as
young as 20. It saw the benefits of renting
to younger drivers after introducing its car-
sharing service in 2008 on college campuses.
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