Tag Archives: Crime Prevention

by | May 23, 2013 · 5:57 am

Hospitality Industry Security Solutions: Texas Hotels And Motels Form “Crime-Fighting Network” By Using Email Chain To Report Local Criminal Activity

“…there are about a hundred hotels on an email chain, reporting criminal activity… Awhile back, police busted a counterfeit ring happening in area hotels…they were eventually caught because we had shared the information amongst the hotel network, they were caught by the police Hotel Crime Fighting Networkdepartment…businesses also rely on surveillance cameras to alert each other of suspicious activity…”

You can call it a crime-fighting network of sorts. Area hotels and motels work together to help keep you safe. “You never know when a situation will come up, ” said Bill Brendel, General Manager of the Crockett Hotel downtown.

Unfortunately, Brendel went on to say the crime at the top of hotels’ list are car burglaries. You’ll find most hotels have signs warning you about them. “So we just tell people don’t leave a bunch of things in your car, ‘ Brendel went on to say.

During the peak of the summer tourist season Brendel says the San Antonio Police Department will work closely with downtown hotels to keep an extra eye on your car. “And they do extra surveillance, and it’s been very effective, ” said Brendel.

For more:  http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Hotel-security-network-curbs-crime/VkpxX6Ah00qO_Z2wNnCZng.cspx

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by | April 22, 2013 · 6:04 am

Hospitality Industry Security Solutions: Hotels In Metropolitan Areas Should “Create Actual Security” With “Layers Of Properly Trained Personnel”; A Need For Sophisticated Security Cameras For Thermal And Infrared Viewing

“…what (hoteliers) want to create is actual security and depth—layers of properly trained personnel to meet the risks that are known for the venue you’re in…if you’re in Times Square, covert effort is more appropriate…vulnerability audits help find ‘weakness in the system that can be hotel securityexploited or lapse during a crisis’…the audit shows some oft-forgotten measures, such as making sure the hotel’s website can handle a thousand times the traffic without crashing or that associates know appropriate protocols….every employee is a crisis manager and a (public relations representative) for the organization…’if you don’t teach them what they should and shouldn’t do, they’ll wing it’, and that can be dangerous to a hotel’s reputation…”

“…(sophisticated security equipment such as) thermal and infrared viewing for nighttime and low-visibility conditions, license plate readers, car counters, people counters, cameras with analytics that follow subjects automatically and alert critical areas of operation…”

While hotels can be safe havens for guests, they can be the target of attacks as well. Anthony C. Roman, president of risk-management firm Roman & Associates, said the hotel industry has suffered in the last decade. Hard economic times globally have caused hotels to cut back on security budgets. As more hotels are taking the appropriate preventive security measures, other hotel brands have not addressed the issue at all. “And yet other brands are subcontracting their security requirements to private security companies,” he said.

The constant flow of large numbers of people in and out of hotels during daily business hours makes them vulnerable for attacks, according to global intelligence agency Stratfor. “There’s certainly fear,” Haley explained. “There are few targets that offer the potential awards for motivated terrorists that hotels do.” Those rewards are a large target with potentially massive body counts and global exposure. The problem with hotels, he added, is “they’re open and inviting places.”

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/10326/Terrorism-risks-heighten-hotelier-awareness

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by | April 4, 2013 · 5:49 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Washington Hotel Manager And Staff Assist In Arrest Of “Identity Theft Ring”; Forged ID Cards, Computers And Printers Discovered In Room

“…the hotel manager called the police to report suspicious men who had booked a room. As he was talking to officers, the identity theftsuspects ran out a back door of the hotel and left in a vehicle…the manager called back to report that his staff found “suspicious computer equipment” and documents strewn about a room they had been scheduled to clean. Detectives served a search warrant on the room…three suspects returned to the hotel that night to get the items they left in the room and were arrested…”

Mukilteo police arrested three men on Thursday in connection with an identity-theft ring after hotel cleaning staff found a room full of forged IDs and the equipment to manufacture them. The room at the hotel in the 8500 block of the Mukilteo Speedway was filled with computers, printers, mail and paperwork that didn’t belong to anyone registered for the room, said Cheol Kang, spokesperson for the Mukilteo Police Department.

A search warrant also recovered numerous ID cards with different names but the same photo of one of the men, as well as a printer with pages of blank check paper.

A 32-year-old from Lake Stevens, a 31-year-old from Renton and a 28-year-old from Everett were booked into Snohomish County Jail for investigation of financial fraud and forgery. Kang said the three men were already under investigation by other law-enforcement agencies for identity theft, fraud and other financial crimes.

For more:  http://mukilteobeacon.villagesoup.com/p/identity-theft-ring-busted/983738

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by | July 24, 2012 · 6:10 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Electronic Hotel Room Locks Shown To Be Vulnerable To "Hardware Gadgets"

The system’s vulnerability arises, Brocious says, from the fact that every lock’s memory is entirely exposed to whatever device attempts to read it through that port. Though each lock has a cryptographic key that’s required to trigger its “open” mechanism, that string of data is also stored in the lock’s memory, like a spare key hidden under the welcome mat.

At the Black Hat security conference Tuesday evening, a Mozilla software developer and 24-year old security researcher named Cody Brocious plans to present a pair of vulnerabilities he’s discovered in hotel room locks from the manufacturer Onity, whose devices are installed on the doors of between four and five million hotel rooms around the world according to the company’s figures. Using an open-source hardware gadget Brocious built for less than $50, he can insert a plug into that DC port and sometimes, albeit unreliably, open the lock in a matter of seconds. “I plug it in, power it up, and the lock opens,” he says simply.

The ability to access the devices’ memory is just one of the two vulnerabilities Brocious says he found in Onity’s locks. He says the company also uses a weak encryption scheme that allows him to derive the “site code”–a unique numerical key for every facility–from two cards encoded one after another for the same room. By reading the encrypted data off of two cards and testing thousands of potential site codes against both cards until the decoded data displays a predictable interval between the two, he can find the site code and use it to create more card keys with a magnetizing device. But given that he can only create more cards for the same room as the two keys he’s been issued, that security flaw represents a fairly low risk compared with the ability to open any door arbitrarily.

For more:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/07/23/hacker-will-expose-potential-security-flaw-in-more-than-four-million-hotel-room-keycard-locks/

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by | July 6, 2012 · 6:56 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Florida Motels To Work With Police To Identify And Avoid Meth Lab Operations In Guest Rooms

At the end of the month … police will have a training program to educate hotels on how to identify potential meth dealers looking for a temporary base to cook. In the last three months there have been three drug lab busts in two Motel 6 locations in Jacksonville.

The problem of meth labs in local motel rooms seems to be growing, but there is a renewed focus on stopping the spread.

Fred Pozin, General Manager of the Ramada in Mandarin, tells WOKV they work directly with the Sheriff’s Office to try and seek out the users.

For more:  http://www.wokv.com/weblogs/morning-news-recap/2012/jul/06/stopping-mobile-meth-labs/

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by | December 12, 2011 · 6:50 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Hotels And Restaurants Must Have "Armed Robbery Prevention" Procedures; Available From Insurance Carriers

“…Because hospitality establishments have a certain amount of cash on hand, agents and cashiers may face the potential danger of robberies…”

  1. Is there a high degree of visibility?
  2. Are shop or outlet displays free from posters and signs?
  3. Are  counters and cases low enough for line of sight?
  4. Are all sections of business are visible from central cashier area?
  5. Do you call authorities if you suspect someone?
  6. Have you secured your desk or cashier operation if there is a reason for concern?
  7. Have you installed a holdup alarm system and instructed staff in its use?
  8. Do you keep minimal cash?
  9. Is your routine for bank deposits varied?
  10. Is your safe locked at all times?
  11. Have you taught robbery prevention to employees?
  12. Are references checked before hiring new employees?
  13. Do two or more people open and close your business?

For more:  http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4054068.html

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