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Secret Monitoring of Stores Finds Security Sadly Lacking

A secret monitoring of more than 3,000 retail stores by wireless security company AirDefense Inc. found that half of those stores use wireless data systems that are vulnerable to hacking.

AirDefense Inc., a maker of security products for wireless data systems, says that about 25 percent of the stores’ access points were exchanging data - including credit card and social security numbers - with no encryption, writes Boston.com.

Another 25 percent were using an outdated encryption method that is easily accessed by hackers using widely available tools.

“You can drive down a street with a laptop and easily find wireless access points, and it does not require a great degree of sophistication,” Avivah Litan, security analyst with Gartner Inc., is quoted as saying.

Lars Laven, co-founder of wireless security firm Columbitech, calls the report the tip of the iceberg leading to a much larger security problem.