Are Hotels Spying On You? Here ’s the Truth

If you’ve ever walked into a hotel room and wondered if you’re being watched, you’re not alone. Whether it’s an idle question or a gnawing paranoia, many Americans have considered whether hotels are spying on their guests in the digital age. The answer is generally no, since that would violate laws in more than a dozen states. But the issue is complicated on a federal level, and security experts also say rogue hotel employees could easily hide small cameras inside devices, like clocks and lamps. “Assuming someone has access to the room before and after the customer uses it, I think it’s quite easy because there are many devices available to the public that can be inserted into a room and retrieved after,” said Christopher Falkenberg, president of Insite Risk Management, a security-consulting firm. “It’s not high-speed stuff, and it’s not hard to get,” added Falkenberg, who is a former U.S. Secret Service special agent. “If someone is targeted, that would be easy to do.” However, the chance of that actually happening is slim, according to several surveillance experts, especially for guests who are not high-profile people like celebrities or politicians. Public figures are more likely to be targeted for intimate photos. There’s little to no value in spying on ordinary travelers, and hotel companies would likely not put their reputations at risk in surveilling guests, the experts say. “In ...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized onetime onetimetravel Source Type: news