Resorts World Las Vegas, a hotel that is hosting attendees of the DEF CON hacking conference this week, will perform daily inspections of rooms including those displaying a privacy sign, according to a letter from the hotel given to guests. An information security professional posted a photo of the letter online. Members of the cybersecurity community have reacted with a mix of anger and disappointment on social media.
“Welcome, and thank you for choosing Resorts World Las Vegas. We are pleased that you have joined us, as you have chosen to stay with us for relaxation, fun and excitement!” the message, written on hotel letterhead, reads.
“As you may or may not know, a well-known hacking convention will be held in Las Vegas during your stay,” it adds. DEF CON runs from August 8 to 11, with many attendees already in the city for the separate Black Hat cybersecurity conference or other events. “We remain committed to our guests’ safety and understand the utmost importance of cybersecurity, as well.”
The letter then describes what staff at Resorts World Las Vegas will be doing: “In an effort to increase the safety of our guests, we will be conducting scheduled, brief visual and non-intrusive room inspections daily beginning Monday, August 5. Rooms with a privacy sign will be included as part of the inspection process.”
But… it’s cybersecurity. What is a “brief visual and non-intrusive room inspection” even looking for? Anonymous masks? Green terminals with scrolling text? People shouting “enhance” and/or “I’m in”?
Possibly they’re looking for people assembling their sniper rifles, or trying to ensure that no hotel room gets gutted to become some group’s command HQ with 50 amps of electronics with no shielding sprouting from the wall sockets and clean (de)soldering stations set up alongside an electron microscope?
I know what’s gone on in those hotel rooms in past years, and a lot of it is stuff I wouldn’t want to have to deal with as a hotelier.
He’s in a hoodie, take him out!
Which one, sir? They’re all in hoodies!
Answering machines, scrabble boards, camouflage laptops, rollerblades.
HACK THE PLANET! THEY’RE TRASHING OUR RIGHTS!
Too many secrets
We didn’t start the fire!
Captain Crunch whistles.
I’ve heard you can bankrupt financial institutions with one of those.
For those who missed the joke: Payphone hackers (often called phreakers) discovered that a toy whistle from Captain Crunch cereal boxes could easily be modified to play the specific tone that payphones listened for to indicate that a coin had been inserted. Basically, the phone company didn’t know when a coin has been put in, without some sort of signal from the pay phone. And typically, the only lines run to the phone were the actual phone line. So the pay phone would play a specific 2600Hz tone, indicating that a coin was inserted.
Using this toy whistle, you could essentially use payphones for free, and it was entirely untraceable until the company emptied the phone and counted the coins in the collection bin. In an era when cellphones were only for millionaires and were the size of literal bricks the world was almost entirely dependent on pay phones unless you were at home. So this was a major discovery for phreaks, who quickly began experimenting to see what other tones may be used to send signals.
Naturally, the phone companies panicked, and quickly had the cereal company pull the toys from future boxes.
I like to say enhance before opening the full file from a thumbnail in feh when showing my wife pictures. She hates it and I will not stop
She’s a lucky lady.
Maybe some Guy Fawkes masks?
How can an inspection be non-intrusive if it consists of physically entering a guest’s room? As an aside, I was hoping I could attend this year but my company said there wasn’t enough budget 🙄. Whenever I attend Defcon or Blackhat, I stay in hotels not directly within the vicinity of the con because of all the shenanigans.
Non-Intrusive in that they enter the room, which is their property and they have the right to enter, but they aren’t going through your stuff.
Renters have rights.
They do, and you agree to whatever rights are outlined in the rental agreement when you check in and sign the forms.
There are rights you can’t give up even by signing them away.
On private property, you agree to the terms the property owner sets.
There are still rights you 100% cannot sign away regardless of what property you are on.
There are also rights people think they have on private property that they absolutely do not have. ;)
So you can’t sign away your right to not have your room searched on the owner’s property?
You’re getting upvotes and the other guy down. Based on feelings.
Legal chapter and verse please.
As a parent, I have the right to enter my kids’ rooms anytime I want. If I don’t do it respectfully, it will definitely be intrusive.
The hotel does have their rights. When they abuse those rights, it becomes intrusive. Rights don’t really have anything to do with feeling that someone is being intrusive.
How can an inspection be non-intrusive if it consists of physically entering a guest’s room?
“Because we said it was!” - Hotel Management
Hotel clerk: Sir, is that dangerous equipment you’re setting up?
Hacker: It’s just a WiFi coconut, a rubber duck, a flipper zero, and a few IMSI catchers.
Clerk: Okay then. So, carry on I guess?
“scheduled” - We’re telling you when we’re coming, hide yo’ shit!
OTOH - WTF do they think they’re looking for? I don’t expect hotel staff to know a nefarious device from a multi-port USB hub.
“Hey, that laptop’s not running Windows…[calls in SWAT team]”
They are gonna find sooooo many Bad Dragon dildos.
Take it from me, Do NOT google this…
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Or do. I won’t judge.
Too late. Had to wash my eyes with bleach after seeing all that. O.O
Would be great to find out that this wasn’t a real notice, someone just social-engineered hotel letterhead from three different hotels and printed up something inflammatory to catch the community’s attention.
They put the fake ATMs in the lobby and the “free wifi” on balloons in the vendor hall anyway.
Also, if you vend or buy anything there, stick to cash.
Heh, I remember that. I still have my defcon 17 Human badge somewhere.
For anyone else curious which hotels are affected by this measure:
- Hilton Las Vegas
- Conrad Las Vegas
- Crockfords Las Vegas
Did NOT know Doug had a hotel.
Gotta make sure the rooms are being used for good and not evil.
They appear to be starting this before the event, so something has them spooked (could just be the con full of spooks). Also with the volume of technical know-how that is going to be in attendance I think
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There is no way someone wont spot funny bususiness if a group or indivudal is trying to pull something.
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If a visual inspection is all their doing (unlikely) then this amounts to nothing more that security theatre. If they are being more invasive the attendees will know (its DEF CON for fuck sake).
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This may just prompt the attendees to book at another resort next year and hurt the hotel in the long run, seeing as this is very close to the opening of the con I dont see many groups changing their booking in time.
If I learned this after I had booked, I would be expecting a refund as well as compensation for missing the conference if I couldn’t find alternative accommodation.
If they are being more invasive the attendees will know
With this announcement, I fully expect every DefCon room to be running their own security cameras.
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They did know announcing this ahead of time is just begging to have their system hacked and taken down, right?
what system
I would be very surprised if they didn’t have a hotel intranet for various administrative functions, especially with an attached convention center, and probably one with an external pipe to some central server that the corporation uses.
I expect it and will be disappointed if it doesn’t happen.
It’s one of the classic blunders. Right up there with starting a land war in Asia.
Yeah, OK, time to hack their schedule.
Look on your list, you’ve already been in here today.
This is just a tutorial level.
I think they started doing room checks in Vegas after that one guy sniped the music festival. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Las_Vegas_shooting
Well, I found the CTF targets.
People in here speculating about them looking for “hacker shit” and I’m assuming it’s sex trafficking shit.
It’s probably guns. That guy who shot all those people at the music festival in Vegas snuck a small arsenal into his room and they didn’t notice until the shooting.
If that were the case, why not do this for every conference? Same question for sex trafficking. Are hackers more violent or sexually exploitative than every other subculture?
Sure, if you’re a Boomer
Maybe they do it but the letters didn’t get released
Leave high powered rifle in car trunk.
Wait for appointed search to finish.
Take high powered rifle back to hotel room?
Its DefCon I feel like they are going to find a lot of guns anyways?
have past attendees done something to make administration feel this is necessary?
