Holidaymakers warned of hotel cyber attacks

HOLIDAYMAKERS should take extra measures to secure smartphones and laptops abroad following a series of cyber attacks on hotel Wi-Fi networks across Europe, GCHQ has warned.

The agency’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said travellers should avoid “insecure” Wi-Fi networks and set up “two-step verification” for emails, typically meaning that accounts can only be accessed using a pin number sent to the user’s mobile phone. The warning came in a “threat report” highlighting claims that hotels in at least seven European countries have been targeted by Russian hackers.

The Sunday Telegraph understands that MPs are separately now using a two-step system to access emails from abroad, including fingerprint scans on their mobile phones, following a major cyber attack on Parliament earlier this year.

The NCSC report highlighted claims that Fancy Bear, the Russian group behind the hacking of Democratic Party emails during the US election, was resposnible for a spate of attacks on the hospitality sector across Europe.

A spokesman said travellers should “use a strong, separate password for your email and install the latest software and app update” on smartphones and other devices. Guidance issued by the NCSC last week also recommended setting up twostep verification for email accounts, which “contain a lot of personal information that a criminal can exploit”.

Travellers have also been warned to avoid using public Wi-Fi networks to make card payments.

“Hackers can set up fake Wi-Fi hotspots, which might enable them to intercept sensitive information you are transferring online,” the spokesman said.

The NCSC’s threat report, issued on Aug 18, stated: “Fancy Bear have allegedly been seeking access to hotel Wi-Fi networks to install malware on guest devices connecting to targeted networks.”

‘Hackers can set up fake Wi-Fi hotspots, which might enable them to intercept sensitive data’