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Smartphone App To Be Used As Hotel Room Keys
An anonymous reader writes Starwood Hotels and Resorts has became the first chain to let guests unlock doors with their phones at 10 Aloft, Element and W hotels. They hope to expand the program to 140 more properties in those brands by the middle of next year. From the article: "The technology's developer says that it uses its own encrypted secure channel to ensure thieves cannot abuse the innovation. But one expert had reservations. "Nothing is 100% secure, and once this technology is in widespread use it will make a very tasty target for hackers," said Prof Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey's department of computing.
With an active CPU behind it, certainly this system can be more secure than the current card system. Also means much less chance of leaving the card in the room and less money spent replacing lost cards.
I work in a building secured with magnetic doors. The reasoning behind default open is that if an emergency happens and the power system fails there is a higher liability for the doors to fail closed and rescuers be unable to reach victims than for the doors to fail open and someone break in.