Are Hotel Keys Secure In A Digital Age?

Mobile keys are convenient time-savers, but as a new technology, they may not be without vulnerabilities. The security of the mobile key feature depends on the measures that hotels or mobile key providers have in place to protect their electronic key system. The Romantik Seehotel Jagerwirt hotel in Austria made headlines when hackers targeted its electronic key system locking the hotel out of its computer system and preventing management from accessing the reservation system. Hackers reportedly emailed a ransom request to the hotel demanding two bitcoins in order to return management’s access to the electronic key system. Hotel manager Christoph Brandstatter says the ransom was paid and the hotel has since returned to traditional keys.