The truth about the hotel room safe
TRAVELLERS often assume that those little metal hotel safes are pretty secure when it comes to keeping valuables safe.
But how safe are they really?
A new YouTube demonstration from Jim Stickley, a cyber security expert, shows that with a piece metal similar to a paperclip — and the right skill set — it’s actually pretty easy to break into a run of the mill hotel safe by bypassing the keypad altogether.
“[This brand of] safe is not the only type that is vulnerable to this, it just happened to be the one in my room on the morning when I had a few minutes to film i,” he toldRoadWarriorVoices.com.
“Obviously not all hotel safes have issues and I have by no means tested all the different types of safes out there.
“But my concern is that there are enough that are vulnerable that people should understand that just because they put their items in the safe, that does not guarantee they are now secure.”
By manoeuvring the piece of metal, Stickley quickly picks the lock, and you can hear a loud pop when it opens.
So what should you do? “If you have valuables, check to see if these are available or if they have other options. Beyond that, keeping your valuables on you when you leave your room is your next best option.”
McGoey offers the following tips to travellers who wish to protect their valuables while on the road.
• Think of hotel safes as being minimally secure, a step above hiding valuables in luggage or hidden in a drawer.
• Hotel safes that are not secured to the wall are not very secure.
• Hotel safes should not be used for things of great value, importance, or one-of-a-kind items.
• Ask the concierge about secure safe. Hotels usually have one in their offices.
This story originally appeared on Fox News.
Source: News Limited / Fox News, 14th September 2015
Originally published as: The truth about the hotel room safe
