Hotels, cafes, and restaurants (HORECA sector) generally offer public Wi-Fi networks to provide internet access to their guests. However, do you know who holds the legal liability for cybercrimes (illegal downloads, fraud, cyberattacks) committed through these networks?
Local regulations, such as **Law No. 5651 on Regulating Broadcasting on the Internet** in Turkey, hold institutions offering collective internet access directly liable for activity on their networks.
In this article, we detail why 5651 compliant logging is technically and legally mandatory in hotels and restaurants.
1. What is Law No. 5651 and What Obligations Does It Carry?
Under Law 5651, hotels and restaurants are categorized as "Collective Use Providers." Businesses in this status must store details of anyone using their network:
2. Time-Stamping (Hashing) the Logs
For collected logs to be legally admissible in court, they must be digitally signed daily using cryptographic hash systems (such as TUBITAK time-stamps). Plain-text logs are not legally valid in official investigations.
3. Isolating Guest Networks (VLAN & Network Segmentation)
One of the largest security flaws is keeping guest Wi-Fi and corporate back-office systems (PMS/POS billing networks) on the same subnet.
4. Potential Penalties & Legal Risks
If a cybercrime is committed on a network where logging is not enforced, judicial authorities target the owner of the external IP (the hotel or restaurant operator). If the business cannot prove which guest was using the network at that exact millisecond, management can be prosecuted as direct accomplices, resulting in severe fines or imprisonment.
At **Hotelsupp**, we establish 100% compliant, time-stamped 5651 Hotspot architectures for your hospitality business. Our firewall and VLAN configurations shield your company from both legal liabilities and siber threats.
