Understanding Hotel Safe Security
Storing valuables like passports and electronics can be stressful when staying in Airbnbs, home shares, or hostels. Most hotels offer travellers a sense of comfort with their very own in-room safes; however, they might not be as secure as we think.
A new video posted by the Lock Picking Lawyer on his YouTube channel reveals a simple method by which some hotel safes can be broken into. This serves as a public service announcement regarding the Saflok brand of hotel safes, demonstrating how someone could gain access to your room’s safe without knowing the password you set.
The lawyer, known only as the Lock Picking Lawyer, showcases a fraudulent entry by placing a bottle of expensive whiskey in the safe and setting his password.
Initially, when he attempts an incorrect code, the safe fails to unlock. However, he notes that “what this hotel did not do is reset the administrator password that comes from the factory.” This factory code serves as an override for situations when a guest forgets their password. Unfortunately, this factory password is alarmingly simple and was not changed to something more secure that only hotel staff would know.
Next, the lawyer sets the safe to “super-user mode” by pressing the lock key twice. He then enters the generic factory code of 999999 – and voila. When staying in a hotel with this brand of hotel safe, it is crucial to check if the administrator password has been altered from its original setting.
This recent video has caught the attention of frequent travellers; furthermore, other YouTube videos show hotel guests using easy-to-guess master codes like 000000 or 111111 to override hotel safes. Therefore, the next time you plan to use a hotel safe to secure your belongings, make certain there isn’t an easy way to crack the code.
