Researchers spotted three weakly encrypted Wi-Fi networks and two open Wi-Fi networks stemming from Mar-a-Lago which could have allowed anyone to intercept unencrypted internet activity and potentially listen to sensitive national security conversations.
The vulnerabilities were spotted from a motorboat anchored about 800 feet from the back lawn of the club frequented by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to researchers working with Propublica in collaboration with Gizmodo.
Researchers said the flaws could allow a sophisticated hacker to exploit the weaknesses to seize control of devices including computers or smart phones from anyone on the premises. Similar vulnerabilities were also spotted outside President Trump's other family-run retreats including a golf club in Sterling, Virginia and the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.
These included weak and open Wi-Fi networks, wireless printers without passwords, servers with outdated and vulnerable software, and unencrypted login pages to back-end databases containing sensitive information.
In addition to the cybersecurity issues, researchers also noted that it's simple to gain physical access to many of the Trump properties at times when the president isn't there. It is unclear if Trump connects to the insecure networks while at any of the locations and a Trump Organization spokesperson told AOL the best cybersecurity practices are followed.
