Making Tech Headlines · Page 9
Wyndham's App Leaves a Key Where Customers Can Find It
· New York time
Wyndham exposed customer data through a hardcoded credential in its customer app, TechCrunch reported. The credential allowed anyone to access customer data. The hotel company would not say whether it could check for past unauthorized access. A credential embedded in an app can undermine the boundary between a service and the information it holds. The reported problem is not simply that the app contains code, but that a credential enabling access to customer data was present in it. The uncertainty about whether Wyndham can check for past access is separate from the exposure itself. It leaves customers without an answer to an important question about what may have happened before the issue was identified. A hotel app is supposed to make the trip from reservation to room more convenient. In this case, the digital front desk appears to have left a key in the lobby.
Read this story in the full newspaper →Satire. Not factual reporting. Read the original reporting from the linked publishers.