FBI Warns Of Hotel Wi-Fi Malware Spread

An “intelligence note” prepared by the US Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has warned users of a new type of malware attack targeting hotel guests.

The malware is spread through hotel Wi-Fi networks, posing as an update for a popular software product.

IC3 has based this warning on the information provided by the FBI and other US government agencies.

Better safe than sorry

The IC3 is a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) – a consulting agency dealing with economic and high-tech offences. It accepts online crime complaints and publishes regular reports and warnings about emerging new uses of malware, aimed at regular Internet users.

According to IC3, the number of laptops getting infected with malicious software while using hotel Internet connections is on the rise.

“In these instances, the traveller was attempting to setup the hotel room Internet connection and was presented with a pop-up window notifying the user to update a widely-used software product,” IC3 said. If the user agreed to install the update, malicious software was installed instead.

The FBI recommended that all government, private industry and academic personnel who travel abroad take extra caution before updating software products. It advised users to check digital certificates of any update prompts, to see if they match the name of the company.

Updating your laptop before going abroad is also a good idea. Finally, when in doubt, it is better to spend some time going to the software vendor’s website to verify that the update is necessary.

Americans have a reason to be careful while travelling abroad, with industrial espionage a very real issue. Countries such as China and Russia have been previously accused of stealing vital information from careless foreign businessmen.

What do you know about Tech stocks and shares? Take our quiz!

Max Smolaks

Max 'Beast from the East' Smolaks covers open source, public sector, startups and technology of the future at TechWeekEurope. If you find him looking lost on the streets of London, feed him coffee and sugar.

View Comments

  • The traveller was attempting to setup the hotel room Internet connection and was presented with a pop-up window notifying the user to update a widely-used software product,” IC3 said. If the user agreed to install the update, malicious software was installed instead.
    free hotspot software

Recent Posts

Craig Wright Sentenced For Contempt Of Court

Suspended prison sentence for Craig Wright for “flagrant breach” of court order, after his false…

3 days ago

El Salvador To Sell Or Discontinue Bitcoin Wallet, After IMF Deal

Cash-strapped south American country agrees to sell or discontinue its national Bitcoin wallet after signing…

3 days ago

UK’s ICO Labels Google ‘Irresponsible’ For Tracking Change

Google's change will allow advertisers to track customers' digital “fingerprints”, but UK data protection watchdog…

3 days ago

EU Publishes iOS Interoperability Plans

European Commission publishes preliminary instructions to Apple on how to open up iOS to rivals,…

4 days ago

Momeni Convicted In Bob Lee Murder

San Francisco jury finds Nima Momeni guilty of second-degree murder of Cash App founder Bob…

4 days ago