According to a recent study of retail stores being secretly monitored in malls, over 3,000 of them were transferring sensitive data (i.e. credit card info, SSN’s, etc.) completely out in the open.  That means anyone who is willing to eavesdrop the airwaves would be getting some pretty sensitive information on people.  Especially with the holiday season coming up, eavesdroppers will probably be able to acquire this information very quickly.  So the big question is, will retailers actually do something about it or will they just take a reactive approach and do the whole ‘apologies’ thing to everyone who had their identity stolen on their behalf?

Half of more than 3,000 retail stores that a wireless security company secretly monitored at major shopping areas in the U.S. and Europe use wireless data systems vulnerable to hacking, the company said Thursday.

The data that stores routinely transmit on wireless networks include credit card and Social Security numbers and other sensitive customer information.

AirDefense Inc., an Atlanta-based maker of security products for wireless data systems, found that about 25 percent of the stores’ 4,748 wireless access points were exchanging data with no encryption at all to foil electronic eavesdroppers.

Another 25 percent were using an outdated encryption method called Wireless Equivalent Privacy that is easily cracked by thieves using widely available tools.

The remaining half of the access points — the connections between wireless devices and computer networks — were using newer encryption methods that are considered far harder to crack.[more]

Tags: Hackers, Wireless Security