Tag Archives: Internet

by | November 10, 2011 · 6:44 am

Hospitality Industry Internet Risks: Connecticut Hotel Employees Assist Authorities In Arrest And Conviction Of Man For "Child Pornography" While Using Hotel Internet

Employees at the Marriott Hotel in Hartford, Conn., took action over the summer when they spotted a man trying to access a pornographic website in their hotel, the Hartford Courant reports.

They banned the man from the hotel, and then alerted authorities, leading to an investigation by agencies including the Hartford Police, FBI and the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force.

That investigation on Tuesday led to a guilty plea from the suspect who had been using Internet services almost daily at a variety of places including the hotel’s Starbucks Café and the nearby library, the article says.

He had previously been convicted of attempted child molestation, according to the FBI.

William Scott Van Wyk, 35, pleaded guilty in Hartford before U.S. District Judge Christopher Droney to a child pornography charge and one count of using the Internet to try to persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity, the story says.

He faces at least 15 years in prison, although he may receive a longer sentence due to his record.

For more:  http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/11/hotel-takes-action-when-man-spotted-child-porn-guilty-plea/562998/1?csp=34travel&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UsatodaycomTravel-TopStories+%28Travel+-+Top+Stories%29

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Internet Risks: Connecticut Hotel Employees Assist Authorities In Arrest And Conviction Of Man For "Child Pornography" While Using Hotel Internet

Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as , , , ,

by | October 25, 2011 · 5:27 am

Hospitality Industry Internet Issues: Hotel "Wi-Fi Networks" Are Facing "Exponentially" Higher Demand From Guest Usage Of iPads; Investment In More Bandwidth Necessary

“…Some hotel Internet service providers are proposing a solution that offers tiered Wi-Fi service. The lowest level, suitable for basic Internet requirements like checking e-mail, would be free, but other levels would be priced depending on bandwidth requirements…”

 “… iPads consume four times more Wi-Fi data per month than the average smartphone…”

Largely because of the broad use of iPads and other mobile tablets, which are heavy users of video streaming, the guest room Wi-Fi networks that most hotels thought they had brought up to standard just a few years ago are now often groaning under user demands.

“The iPad is the fastest-selling device in consumer electronics history, and because of it the demand placed on any public place Wi-Fi system has gone up exponentially in the last year and a half,” said David W. Garrison, the chief executive of iBAHN, a provider of systems for the hotel and meetings industries.

This means more hotel customers are unhappy with their Internet connections. Hotel owners, meanwhile, who are digging out from a two-year slump caused by the recession, will probably have to invest more money to provide more bandwidth.

For travelers, it may mean still another fee, since hotels will be paying their own Internet bills.

For more:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/25/business/ipads-change-economics-and-speed-of-hotel-wi-fi-on-the-road.html

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Internet Issues: Hotel "Wi-Fi Networks" Are Facing "Exponentially" Higher Demand From Guest Usage Of iPads; Investment In More Bandwidth Necessary

Filed under Guest Issues, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Technology

Tagged as , , , ,

by | September 15, 2011 · 10:17 am

Hospitality Industry Cybercrime Risks: Hotel Management Should Have Policies "Disclosing Risks Of Hotel Computer And Wireless Internet Usage"

“…According to a report from antivirus software manufacturer Norton, global cybercrime has claimed 431 million adult victims in the past year, costing countries $114 billion in direct financial losses. That figure jumps to $388 billion when you factor in the value that victims place on the time they spent recouping the losses…”

Last year, in the U.S. specifically, more than 74 million people were victims of some form of cybercrime, leading to $32 billion in direct financial losses.

  • Recognize that your smartphone is really a pocket-size computer and is prone to the same types of attacks directed at your laptop and desktop. Take steps to protect it, such as keeping your operating system current and creating a strong password.
  • Keep your personal information to yourself. For instance, don’t put your entire birth date, including the year, on Facebook. Think about the security questions normally posed by your bank and other secure locations: “first school you attended,” “name of favorite pet” and the like. Are your answers on display online?
  • Know the pitfalls of public Wi-Fi. CreditCards.com says, “Avoid public wireless Internet connections unless you have beefed-up security protection.”
  • Beware of public computers, too. For instance, Kiplinger says, “Don’t access your accounts or personal information on public hotel computers, which could have software that logs keystrokes and records your passwords and account numbers.”
  • Use credit cards, rather than debit cards, when making purchases online. In case of fraud, you’ll get much better protection from liability with a credit card.

For more:  http://money.msn.com/identity-theft/article.aspx?post=6730f6ce-5203-4b59-bd46-f65a7a3545c2

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Cybercrime Risks: Hotel Management Should Have Policies "Disclosing Risks Of Hotel Computer And Wireless Internet Usage"

Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management, Technology, Theft

Tagged as , , , ,

by | July 25, 2011 · 10:29 am

Hospitality Industry Cybercrime Risks: Hotel Management Must Insure Against "Illegal Use" Of Internet Access By Individuals Engaging In "Online Piracy"

“Small businesses that offer Internet access, such as a coffee shop or a hotel or even a car mechanic with a waiting area, should be aware of the industry’s crackdown on piracy and take steps to ensure their customers aren’t using the service to steal content,”

 “…people don’t want to pirate music from home because they’re afraid of getting caught, so they’ll use the WiFi connection of a (outside business)…”

The National Federation of Independent Business, a non-profit small-business association, issued a warning to Main Street entrepreneurs who offer Internet access to their customers: Take steps now to avoid allegations of online piracy. Record labels, movie studios and other industry groups recently struck a deal where participating Internet providers will issue warnings to customers whose accounts are allegedly used to steal content.

Under the deal, customers whose accounts are allegedly used for piracy will receive at least five alerts from their Internet provider. Upon sending the fifth notice, the Internet provider may implement certain “mitigation measures” to stop the alleged piracy, including reducing Internet speeds or redirecting traffic to a special landing page until the customer contacts the Internet provider to discuss the issue.

“Internet service providers wouldn’t have to pull the plug on a customer after the sixth notice, but that’s a possibility, and that’s where businesses have to watch out,” said Beth Milito, senior executive counsel for the NFIB. “Small businesses rely on their Internet connections the same way they do the telephone. It’s how they communicate with customers and vendors. It’s where they do business.”

  • One easy way to discourage abuse for businesses offering WiFi is to prevent people who aren’t customers from using their Internet connection by requiring a password. “For example, they could print a password on the receipt and change it periodically, to prevent non-customers from using the service,” Milito said.
  • Businesses can also block access to certain Websites and types of Websites, she added. “This requires a little bit of know-how on the part of the small-business owner, and it may accidentally block access to legitimate Websites, but it also can discourage people from using a business’s network to steal content,” she said. “With more and more people carrying smartphones and even tablets, free WiFi can help a small business attract and keep customers, but unless a business owner uses commonsense and takes precautions, those customers could come at a hefty price.”

For more:  http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Midmarket/Security-an-Issue-for-Businesses-Offering-Free-WiFi-253920/

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Cybercrime Risks: Hotel Management Must Insure Against "Illegal Use" Of Internet Access By Individuals Engaging In "Online Piracy"

Filed under Crime, Insurance, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft

Tagged as , ,

by | June 7, 2011 · 7:56 am

Hospitality Industry Computer Risks: Cybercrime Risks Remain Perilous As "Malicious Software Or Malware" Increases To 6 Million Programs In First Three Months Of 2011

The amount of new malicious software, or “malware,” unleashed on the internet during the first three months of this year hit six million programs, according to a report last week by McAfee, the computer antivirus maker. “It’s been a busy start to 2011 for cybercriminals,” Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of McAfee Labs, said in a statement.

A 2009 study by computer antivirus maker McAfee and SAIC, a technology security firm, estimated that computer crime cost companies $1 trillion across the globe, but analysts say the actual total is sure to be higher as computer security breaches are underreported.

“I think all the service providers are victims of this type of issue, it’s just whether the company has a public interface to warn users of this type of problem is the big question,” Andrew Lih, author and professor at the University of Southern California, told CNN.

“Google has been pretty good at being forthcoming in having this kind of dialogue with its users,” Lih said. “It’s very possible to probable that these other service providers, from Yahoo to Microsoft to any of these other ones, have had these types of attacks, it’s just that Google has been very public in trying to combat this.”

For more:  http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/07/the-hidden-cost-of-cybercrime/

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Computer Risks: Cybercrime Risks Remain Perilous As "Malicious Software Or Malware" Increases To 6 Million Programs In First Three Months Of 2011

Filed under Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Theft

Tagged as , , , ,

by | March 8, 2011 · 5:07 am

Hospitality Industry Information Technology (IT) Risks: "Network Security and Privacy Liability" Insurance Is Available To Protect First-Party Risks And Third-Party Liability Involved In Cyber-Crime

“…Network Security and Privacy Liability policies are generally designed to address first-party risks and third-party liability–sometimes in the same policies, sometimes separately…”

“…first-party losses. These might include business interruption, which could be caused by a flood or fire in a data center, or malicious hacking by a disgruntled employee or even a cyber-crook half a world away...”

There is also the risk of being sued by third parties for somehow allowing–or failing to prevent–unauthorized access to sensitive information.

When IT goes down, business screeches to a halt. Indeed, for businesses such as online retailers, brokerages and some financial firms, the IT and data assets are the entire business–every bit as critical as the factory and warehouse are to the hard-goods manufacturer, or the vehicle fleet to a trucking company.

As more and more companies–and their insurers–are realizing, this reliance on IT creates a hornet’s nest of risks that can result in crippling losses that conventional, turn-of-the-century P&C insurance coverages won’t respond to. These new issues call for a new category of coverage.

Perhaps even more ominous are the all-new liability exposures inherent in IT operations. A raft of relatively new regulations and legislation makes companies responsible for safeguarding personal and confidential data they collect as part of everyday e-commerce operations.

Companies are liable for customer credit card numbers, financial transactions, medical history, credit information and other sensitive data.

For more:  http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2010/03/15/cyber-coverage-the-new-must-have-in-the-property#

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Information Technology (IT) Risks: "Network Security and Privacy Liability" Insurance Is Available To Protect First-Party Risks And Third-Party Liability Involved In Cyber-Crime

Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology

Tagged as , , , ,

by | February 21, 2011 · 10:52 am

Hospitality Industry Internet Risks: Hotel Management Must Train Employees To "Check Security Software And Certifications On Websites" To Prevent Downloading Internet Viruses

“These Internet scammers are very sophisticated…They’ll send an e-mail that looks like eBay or PayPal, asking for your information. The attorney general speaks often about Internet safety, and he encourages consumers to check the security software and certifications on websites and never store their personal information there. We have an identity theft protection tool on our website, www.Ag.ky.gov…”

Every website you visit tags your computer with a tracking device called a “cookie.” Your every move online — e-mail, downloads, credit-card purchases — is stored on your own computer’s hard drive as a digital footprint, even though you religiously delete and empty your recycle bin.

(A woman) was digitally minding her own business and was accosted by a phony website phishing for her personal information — something all too common on the Internet. As technology insidiously pervades every aspect of life, personal privacy becomes more endangered and difficult to maintain. Erik Eckel, a managing partner at Louisville Geek and Berg’s computer service tech, called her problem “one of the biggest trends we’ve seen.

Users will click on a link on someone’s Facebook page, or travel to a site that’s infected and they receive a pop-up window saying, ‘You’re infected. You want to go ahead and license the software? Only $39.95.’ The pop-up won’t go away, people buy it and then an illegitimate user has their credit-card number.” And then there are hackers, like David Kernel, now serving a yearlong sentence at the Ashland Federal Correctional Institution in Kentucky for invading Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s private e-mail account during the 2008 election and sharing her password and telephone number.

Even Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway was a victim of identity theft, weeks after announcing a special unit on cybercrime.

For more:  http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110222/FEATURES/302220033/With-latest-Web-perils-it-s-wise-to-be-paranoid?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CFEATURES

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Internet Risks: Hotel Management Must Train Employees To "Check Security Software And Certifications On Websites" To Prevent Downloading Internet Viruses

Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Theft

Tagged as , , , ,

by | January 2, 2011 · 10:34 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Issues: Hotel Management Will Feel Increased Pressure In 2011 To Offer "Free Wireless Internet Access" With Resultant Needs To Secure Network

A comfy mattress and a hot breakfast are still important to hotel guests, but free wireless Internet access is the most desired amenity, according to a new survey of 53,000 travelers.

Hotels are likely to feel more pressure to offer the service at no charge, said Stuart Greif, vice president and general manager of the global travel and hospitality practice at J.D. Power.

The survey by J.D. Power & Associates found that free Wi-Fi was the most important feature for guests in nearly every segment of the hotel industry.

  • The most expensive hotels were the least likely to offer free Wi-Fi.
  • Of guests staying at midscale hotels, 96 percent said they got free Wi-Fi, as did 64 percent of guests at budget hotels, according to the survey of guests who stayed in hotels from May 2009 to June 2010.
  • None said they got free Wi-Fi at luxury hotels.
  •  Free Wi-Fi is available at many businesses.

At the Ritz-Carlton luxury hotel chain, the fee for Wi-Fi access is a top complaint among guests, said spokeswoman Vivian A. Deuschl. (The new Ritz-Carlton in downtown Los Angeles charges $12.95 a day.) Some Ritz-Carlton hotels offer free Internet access in the lobbies and other public spaces. “We have no immediate plans to change the policy, but it’s an ongoing subject of discussion,” Deuschl said.

For more:  http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/travel/thisweek/stories/DN-guestswant_0102tra.ART.State.Edition1.1481b10.html

4 Comments

Filed under Guest Issues, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Tagged as , ,