How to Improve Hotel Wi-Fi Security with Passpoint (a.k.a. Hotspot 2.0)

Spring Breakers Beware! Much ado has been made about hotel Wi-Fi security since a recent report from the Today Show showed just how easy it is for hackers to tap guests’ personal information via hotel Wi-Fi. Unsuspecting sunbathers naively connect poolside only to learn a nefarious hacker has secretly duped them into authenticating on to a fake Wi-Fi network that closely resembles the hotel’s.

Just what information can be obtained? Well, pretty much anything including: 

• Device MAC addresses
• What guests are purchasing
• Credit card info including CVV codes
• Travel plans, including flight and seat numbers
• Email address and passwords (which is particularly dangerous given that 81% of people surveyed use the same password for more than one account)

So, what did Today’s cybersecurity expert recommend? Little in the way of reassurances beyond:

• Asking the hotel for the network name to ensure you join the right one
• Shutting off “auto-join” to Wi-Fi networks and “forgetting” previous logins
• Switching to cellular data (3G/4G) when banking or shopping

There is a new and better way to deliver a seamless Wi-Fi experience that protects guest data with Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Passpoint®. In our 3-part blog series, we explore the Wi-Fi Alliance’s Passpoint certification program, which is also known as Hotspot 2.0 (for its specification). For the first time, hotels can offer guests both:

• Instant and automatic connection upon arrival, after one-in-a-lifetime authentication and
• A fully-encrypted connection to Wi-Fi at every brand location

Imagine a day when guests arrive on property and are automatically connected to secure Wi-Fi, with no cumbersome portal pages or logins required. It’s the homelike Wi-Fi experience we’ve all been waiting for and it’s available today.

Did you know ElevenOS enables automatic & seamless guest Wi-Fi via Passpoint? Contact us to see how.

Passpoint is a registered trademark of Wi-Fi Alliance®.