An argument is raging about whether companies should be forced to disclose cyber attacks, as security experts warn that US retailers, hotels and airports have gaping holes in their online security.

Researchers in Las Vegas for the Black Hat cyber security conference exposed flaws they argued could allow hackers to swipe credit card details from retailers, run technology in hotel rooms by remote control and trick airport security into believing someone is drugs-free.

Dan Geer, chief information security officer for In-Q-Tel, which invests in technology on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency, said the threat of cyber attack was so serious that companies should have to declare significant security failures. “Not only has cyber security reached the highest levels of attention, it has spread into nearly every corner,” he said. “The footprint of cyber security has surpassed the grasp of any one of us.”