A leading maker of electronic hotel locks said that it is working with hoteliers to upgrade an undetermined number of locks after an ABC News report late last month demonstrated how a security expert using a hacking device could break into hotel rooms within seconds.
Onity, which says it has installed 3.7 million electronic locks worldwide since 1984, is working with hoteliers such as Marriott International and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) to upgrade locks believed to be at risk.
Onity declined to discuss specifics about the number of locks that might be affected or the timeframe of the repairs.
Onity, a division of the conglomerate United Technologies Corp. and sister company to both Otis Elevator and Pratt & Whitney aircraft, was put on alert after the ABC News report showed an executive with the security-consulting firm Trustwave breaking into a room at New York's Holiday Inn Express Times Square in less than two seconds by using a device hidden in a marker.
ABC News showed the Trustwave executive repeating the procedure at a nearby Hilton Garden Inn.
"Onity is aware that a hacker has presented complex methods to illegally break into locks," Onity said in a statement. "The company is working with its customers to deploy solutions that have been validated by independent experts."
Holiday Inn Express parent IHG said Onity is shipping, free of charge, so-called "port blockers" that are said to prevent such hacking.
IHG added that Onity and members of the lodging industry are conducting "confidential negotiations" with regard to financial responsibility for the lock upgrades.
Marriott International released a statement, saying: "We are aware of the reports that some hotel guestroom locks manufactured by Onity could potentially be unlocked by inserting a hardware device that hacks into the computer software located inside the locks.
"We are in the process of implementing solutions provided by Onity to resolve the issue as quickly as possible."