Three US-based Wyndham hotels have been found running spyware on their guest check-in computers, according to a report from TechCrunch. The presence of the spyware is even more problematic than it sounds, as a serious security vulnerability that allows the entire internet to access its recordings has been found in the program.
The computers were all found running "pcTattletale", a program that belongs to a grade of spyware apps known colloquially as "stalkerware". Stalkerware lives on a device in secret — it runs without being seen but collects information on device usage (gaining its name from its most dangerous potential use case). pcTattletale is billed as an app for secretly monitoring children or employees — it takes screenshots of the device and uploads them to the cloud for review by the installer.
Eric Daigle, the security researcher who first discovered the program on the hotel computers, also discovered a dangerous security problem with pcTattletale. As is common for poorly-programmed spyware programs, pcTattletale contains insecurities that can be exploited. Unlike most spyware programs, the simple pcTattletale hosts a critical vulnerability "allowing any attacker to obtain the most recent screen capture recorded from any device on which PCTattletale is installed".
The security flaw in the spyware highlights the danger inherent in stalkerware such as pcTattletale or the popular Life360, which are advertised to parents as safe ways to "[let] you understand your child's online world without them ever knowing," according to pcTattletale's website.
