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Security Breach Affecting 4 Million Hotel Room Locks: NEW ATTACKS REPORTED;
Updated Version of the 'LOCKFIX White Paper' Now Available
 
 
Affected hotel records (location, phone numbers, name…) exposed to the criminal community
as a result of a new attack (November 5th) towards the lock manufacturer's servers;
A truly effective and fully audited solution to re-secure affected Onity locks is independently
provided by OpenWays with a freeware license (LOCKFIX)



Chicago — November 20, 2012
— Aftermath from the recent security breach impacting more than four million electronic door locks installed worldwide continues to wreak havoc on the hotel industry. First disclosed by Forbes.com and presented at the BlackHat security conference in July, hacker Cody Brocious released the necessary technical information and code on his website (http://daeken.com/) to over-ride an Onity lock by using tools disguised inside both a dry erase marker pen and an iPhone Case. Soon afterward, a Crime Alert was issued by a respected hospitality risk management group that reported "actual guestroom burglaries and guest thefts by use of these devices." According to the report: "Multiple rooms have been hit at several hotels". The casualties don't stop there.

On November 5, Brocious published a link on Twitter that facilitated penetration within Onity servers. This made it possible for the criminal community to copy records needed to pinpoint the location of affected hotels that installed the compromised locks. Equally concerning, the infiltrated records provide details that hackers could leverage to perform new attacks via social engineering. Although the breached server-access was eventually closed -- it took an extremely long time to re-secure the servers -- criminals would have had plenty of time to copy records from these exposed hotels.

This new attack demonstrates that the hacker remains extremely focused on Onity, and is likely not to be completed with his attacks on the company and its products. Significant media coverage of these attacks are further energizing the entire hacking community, keeping hotels and travelers at risk.
 
Background of the Attack and Possible Cure
While Onity responded to initial hacker attacks with a proposed plan (http://daeken.com/onitys-plan-to-mitigate-hotel-lock-hack), Brocious publicly challenged the efficiency and security of the possible cure. To date, the company has not been able to provide a complete end-to-end security audit of its full system conducted by independent, and highly reputable security firms. According to security experts, the four-page report provided by Onity is said to be extremely limited, incomplete and non-conclusive. Hotels purchasing the proposed replacement control board as a cure remain extremely exposed to a variation of the initial attack, as the fundamental issues of the locking system are still not resolved and continue to be in the public domain. As part of the proposed plan, hotels are instructed to use a cap secured by a torx screw. This, however, is only a short-term security solution for affected hotels until a long-term and proven fix developed by the manufacturer is applied to all locks. It is recommended to increase physical security at a property when using this temporary fix.
 
Several consequential and serious security threats were not published by the hacker but security experts were able to identify them, further increasing the risk for hotels of new attacks even after having invested in a costly lock control board replacement.

To inform qualified hoteliers about these and other risks, a restricted version of a White Paper is made available upon execution of a confidentiality agreement.

Proven, Audited LOCKFIX available from OpenWays
A truly effective alternative cure developed independently from the lock manufacturer is now available from OpenWays, the world leader in mobile-based access management solutions. LOCKFIX is fully audited by several highly reputable security firms, confirming its effectiveness. Management software, along with the Android smartphone application to use LOCKFIX, is available via freeware license (free of charge license) from OpenWays.
 
"LOCKFIX is the only long-term solution available today to truly cure the affected locks," said Pascal Metivier, OpenWays Founder and CEO. "LOCKFIX addressed the risk related to the incriminated lock communication port breach. It's proven, easy to deploy, highly effective and available immediately from OpenWays."

To view OpenWays' Educational Video, click on the following link:

To request the updated version of the White Paper
that identifies problems with electronic locks installed in more than four million hotel room doors, and offers an independently security audited "LOCKFIX":



About OpenWays

OpenWays is a global solutions provider of mobile-based access-management and security solutions. With offices in Chicago, Las Vegas, Seoul and in Europe, OpenWays provides technology solutions allowing for the secure issuance and delivery of access rights and keys processed via any cell phone operating on any network. The OpenWays solution is truly unique as it is built on the concept of credential dematerialization. The OpenWays mobile room key solution works on ALL the 6.5 billion cell phones in service in the world today. For more information, please contact Andrew Sanders at +1 732 707-1869 or email [email protected]. More information can be found by visiting www.OpenWays.com.
 
OpenWays has developed its cure for the impacted locks independently and no endorsement of the affected lock manufacturer is intended or implied. (*) other major non published security threats were discovered. In the interest of everyones safety, it is OpenWays policy to not publicly disclose security threats. Such “reserved “information will only be made available to pre-qualified hoteliers.

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Contact:

Barb Worcester
PRPRO /OpenWays
Tel: (440) 930-5770
[email protected]

or

Andrew Sanders
OpenWays
Tel:  (732) 707-1869
[email protected]


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Also See: OpenWays Announcing: MOBILE KEY TRIO with Triple Play Reader Including CAC™, Pure NFC™ and RFID technologies for Upgrading Existing Electronic Locks / November 2012

Hotel Lock Security Breach Affecting Four+ Million Rooms: Educational Video and Updated White Paper Now Available / October 2012

Hotel Lock Security Breach Affecting Four Millions Rooms: White Paper Now Available; Latest security threat is a device hidden inside a dry erase marker pen; News of hotel door locks being breached by hackers has gone viral; Hotels vulnerable to potential attacks are invited to register to receive a White Paper detailing an independently audited cure / October 2012

The Security Breach Affecting Millions of Hotel Rooms Finally Addressed Thanks to the Power of Smartphones; A freeware license is made available to all hotels affected worldwide. / October 2012

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OpenWays Unveils its Next Generation Door Lock Upgrade Module for Mobile Key Front Desk Bypass Service / June 2011

OpenWays and KABA Unveil All-In-One Saflok RFID Lock with Factory-Integrated OpenWays Mobile Key / June 2011

Can Self Service Mean More Service? YES! With OpenWays' Mobile Key / May 2011

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iPhone 5 will be Compatible with OpenWays CAC™; All next generation smartphones, including the iPhone 5, Google Android Phones, Windows 7 Mobile Phones, Nokia C7 and N8 Smartphones or Next Generation Blackberry's will be able to operate the OpenWays Crypto Acoustic Credential™ / November 2010

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Hotel Technology Veteran Andrew Sanders Joins OpenWays as VP Business Development / November 2010

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"CHECK IN YOUR WAY" OpenWays Launches New Campaign to Aid Hotels' Mobile Marketing Initiatives / October 2010

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Aitor Agueda Joins OpenWays as VP of R&D; Twenty-five year hospitality and security systems veteran instrumental in designing the most installed and successful electronic-locking systems in North America joins OpenWays to lead R&D efforts; Maurizio Zama promoted to Chief Operating Officer / September 2010

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OpenWays Mobile Phone Front Desk Bypass Solution Selected for Guestroom 20X at HITEC; Attendees of the 38th Annual Hospitality Information Technology Exposition & Conference will have an opportunity to check into a virtual hotel, bypass the front desk, and open their room door securely using nothing but their cell phone -- any mobile device, any carrier works! / May 2010

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ITB Berlin Attendees Flock to OpenWays' iPhone App for Front-Desk Bypass, Acoustic Room Keys; Attendees at world's largest trade show for the travel industry flocked to see world's first crypto acoustic solution for check-in/out and room access via any guest's mobile phone; OpenWays was one of 11,127 companies from 187 countries that exhibited at the record-breaking event / April 2010

OpenWays Presents its iPhone Application to Bypass Front Desks and Open Room Locks; Mobile solution provider that developed the world's first crypto acoustic solution for check-in/out and room access via any guest's mobile phone announces new services to further enhance operations and guest services. / February 2010

OpenWays Responds to FAQs Regarding its Front Desk Bypass Solutions that Securely Open Hotel Room Doors by Cell Phone; Mobile solution provider that developed the world's first acoustic solution for check-in/out and room access via a guest's mobile phone regardless of type answers hospitality industry's most frequently asked questions / February 2010

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