Resorts World Las Vegas, a hotel that is hosting attendees of the DEF CON hacking conference this week, will perform daily inspections of rooms including those displaying a privacy sign, according to a letter from the hotel given to guests. An information security professional posted a photo of the letter online. Members of the cybersecurity community have reacted with a mix of anger and disappointment on social media.
“Welcome, and thank you for choosing Resorts World Las Vegas. We are pleased that you have joined us, as you have chosen to stay with us for relaxation, fun and excitement!” the message, written on hotel letterhead, reads.
“As you may or may not know, a well-known hacking convention will be held in Las Vegas during your stay,” it adds. DEF CON runs from August 8 to 11, with many attendees already in the city for the separate Black Hat cybersecurity conference or other events. “We remain committed to our guests’ safety and understand the utmost importance of cybersecurity, as well.”
The letter then describes what staff at Resorts World Las Vegas will be doing: “In an effort to increase the safety of our guests, we will be conducting scheduled, brief visual and non-intrusive room inspections daily beginning Monday, August 5. Rooms with a privacy sign will be included as part of the inspection process.”
They appear to be starting this before the event, so something has them spooked (could just be the con full of spooks). Also with the volume of technical know-how that is going to be in attendance I think
There is no way someone wont spot funny bususiness if a group or indivudal is trying to pull something.
If a visual inspection is all their doing (unlikely) then this amounts to nothing more that security theatre. If they are being more invasive the attendees will know (its DEF CON for fuck sake).
This may just prompt the attendees to book at another resort next year and hurt the hotel in the long run, seeing as this is very close to the opening of the con I dont see many groups changing their booking in time.
If I learned this after I had booked, I would be expecting a refund as well as compensation for missing the conference if I couldn’t find alternative accommodation.
With this announcement, I fully expect every DefCon room to be running their own security cameras.
Now that you mention it, I expect video of room searches on the ctf reel next year.