Hacking the Moscow Marriott
A ZDNet blog post looks at the security level of the average hotel Wi-Fi network, using the Moscow Marriott as an example.
In August of last year, the poster writes, "Russia's Hacker Magazine published complete details of how to exploit the Marriott Moscow Wi-Fi network — including step-by-step instructions. The Marriotts are not fully to blame — the network is operated by a third-party (MoscomNET) who have failed to take any reasonable measures to secure the network."
The post also links to a TechRepublic article which describes the issue in detail. "At the Moscow Marriott Aurora hotel, I borrowed a Wi-Fi adapter for my notebook computer, plugged it in and had instant, free access to the Wi-Fi network," writes TechRepublic's Marty R. Milette. "How did that happen? Very simple: the guest who borrowed the adapter before me returned it while time still remained on his account. The MAC address from the adapter automatically authenticated me to the system — no other credentials required. And what if I did something evil, such as setting up a P2P server pirating music? As I had never puchased an account, the previous user of the account would receive the blame."
More here from CNET's Sandeep Junnarkar.