Hidden cameras in hotel rooms are a serious problem. How to protect yourself from them?

Information has been made public several times about how some the owner of the apartment or hotel spied on his guests through hidden cameras.

In the past, this was quite difficult to do, but today everything is extremely simple. Modern cameras costing just a few euros have minimal dimensions, store video on large-capacity memory cards or send it directly wirelessly to the cloud.

This gives almost endless possibilities not only to voyeurs but also to hackers.

You can buy the cheapest cameras online for less than four euros, they record video in Full HD resolution to a microSD memory card and have up to a 140-degree field of view.

The misuse of hidden cameras to spy on guests in rented accommodations is currently generating public interest, but such practices are nothing new to the security industry. The surveillance devices can target businesspeople or employees of companies, politicians, activists or journalists. This was highlighted by security company Kaspersky Lab, which recently published several tips on how to check the security of a hotel room.

Mini cameras are plentiful today, costing only a few euros

Protection from cameras

To make sure there are no hidden cameras or microphones in your hotel room or rental apartment, researchers recommend traveling with a small device (available online) that consists of a radio frequency scanner, light-emitting diodes, and red glass. This device will allow you to find any sources that emit electromagnetic waves (most wireless bugs and cameras produce them) and search for hidden cameras, but it costs around 500 euros.

Camera lens It reflects light significantly better than other surfaces, so if you shine the light from the diode on an object that could potentially be a camera and look at it through red glass, you will see a bright red dot.

A smartphone can also be used to detect cameras that use infrared lighting, because mobile phone cameras can detect it with a regular camera. You can try this by turning on the camera on your mobile phone and pointing it at the TV remote control - you will see a distinct red spot of light on the mobile phone screen, which is not visible to the naked eye.

It's impossible to generalize that apartment, hotel, and guesthouse owners put secret cameras in rooms. But if such a case is publicized, almost everyone knows about it.

Microphone protection

To avoid becoming a victim of a listening device, an effective technique is to use background noise. Running water from a tap or other distracting sounds, which can be easily provided by the website Noisli, will effectively disrupt all recordings.

More tips from experts on how to protect yourself from unwanted spying:

• Never leave your belongings unattended, wherever you are. When leaving your hotel room, take all your devices with you.
• Make sure you use a password to protect your devices and that the information stored on them is encrypted. Devices with the latest versions of Android and iOS devices that are secured with a passcode are encrypted by default.
• Avoid the risk of unsecured Wi-Fi and use a wired mouse and integrated keyboard on your laptop.
• Learn how to recognize a transparent mirror. They are not common in everyday life, but you can come across one. Touch the surface of the mirror with your finger and if there is a gap between your finger and its reflection, it is a normal mirror. If there is no gap, it could potentially be a transparent mirror.
• Start using the VPN service on your computer or internet browser