Students from High School found Spy Cams in their Hotel Rooms

High-school students from Wisconsin attending a conference in Minneapolis found spying cameras in their rooms at a downtown hotel, prompting a police investigation.

The recording devices were not found in other rooms on the property, the hotel management determined after a careful search.

Investigations

The students were attending a conference sponsored by Madison East High School at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Minneapolis.

It is unclear if they were the target, although the information available at the moment seems to suggest so, since bugging devices were not found in other rooms.

In a letter to parents, a school official said that the incident was being investigated. Principal Brendan Kearney added that “as a precautionary measure, a staff member accompanying students on the trip was placed on leave.”

Hidden cameras

Reports of spy cameras in lodgings have been recorded in the past, especially at Airbnb locations, despite the terms being clear that hosts need to disclose to guests the security cameras and other surveillance devices with a view to the interior. Tip: focus on objects that seem out of place or in an unusual position and use the flashlight on your phone to spot camera lens reflections in the dark.

As such, guests should still look for hidden gadgets of this kind. A physical inspection is a good start but you can use your phone for a more detailed search.

Scanning the devices on the local network may reveal recording devices if they are connected to the same WiFi network as your computer or phone.

Mobile applications such as Fing can show most devices on the same network, revealing their manufacturer and even the model in some cases. From there, you can search the web to determine the exact type of device.

More technical guests can use software for the desktop that is specifically created for network scanning. Nmap is a popular solution but not the only one.

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