Security of wireless networks often leaves retailers, credit card firms at risk
Theft, breaches likely to increase in tough times
Motorola'sRichard Rushing walks Michigan Avenue on Feb. 2, checking the securityof wireless access points at surrounding stores. (Tribune photo by Nancy Stone / February 2, 2009)
RichardRushing has walked the Champs-Elysees in Paris and strolled anunderground mall in Seoul. But he's not a shopper. He's a wirelesssecurity expert who scans the airwaves in busy retail areas to studyhow stores are protecting your data.
"Retailers have always taken security very seriously," said Rushing,senior director of information security for mobile devices at Motorola Inc., noting the common use of security cameras and guards.
"But they're not looking at the airwaves to see what's leaking out oftheir stores wirelessly. You don't need the merchandise if you cansteal a credit card number and buy a gift card," Rushing said.
Most consumers don't think about what happens to their credit cardinformation when they swipe their plastic at the cash register. Thereality is that large retailers have wireless networks that connectcash registers, bar code scanners and store computers. Those networkscan be vulnerable to breaches by hackers or thieves.
In some high-profile cases, thieves didn't pluck one card number but tens of millions.
In 2007, discount retailer TJX Cos.said a computer breach exposed 45.7 million credit and debit cards toaccount information theft. The group accused of stealing the TJX datawas believed to have hacked into several stores' weakly encryptedwireless networks. Last year, supermarket company Hannaford Bros.reported a data breach, saying customer accounts at stores in theNortheast and Florida were compromised.
Stan Schatt, a vice president at ABI Research, said some retailers arebracing for an uptick in crime because of the economic downturn,whether it's increased shoplifting or employee theft. "What I'm hearingis that some retailers are cutting back in opening new stores andinstead are plowing some money into security."
His research shows 77 percent of retailers with 500 or more employees use wireless networks.
"Retailers work on very thin margins, and even a small increase intheft can wipe out their profit margins completely," Schatt said.
In February, Rushing conducted a "war walk" simulation along the Magnificent Mile,ambling up the sidewalk with a laptop that had an antenna affixed tothe side. Proprietary software collected information about activewireless devices and the level of encryption for those networks.
Continue Reading at the Chicago Tribune
"Retailers have always taken security very seriously," said Rushing,senior director of information security for mobile devices at Motorola Inc., noting the common use of security cameras and guards.
"But they're not looking at the airwaves to see what's leaking out oftheir stores wirelessly. You don't need the merchandise if you cansteal a credit card number and buy a gift card," Rushing said.
Most consumers don't think about what happens to their credit cardinformation when they swipe their plastic at the cash register. Thereality is that large retailers have wireless networks that connectcash registers, bar code scanners and store computers. Those networkscan be vulnerable to breaches by hackers or thieves.
In some high-profile cases, thieves didn't pluck one card number but tens of millions.
In 2007, discount retailer TJX Cos.said a computer breach exposed 45.7 million credit and debit cards toaccount information theft. The group accused of stealing the TJX datawas believed to have hacked into several stores' weakly encryptedwireless networks. Last year, supermarket company Hannaford Bros.reported a data breach, saying customer accounts at stores in theNortheast and Florida were compromised.
Stan Schatt, a vice president at ABI Research, said some retailers arebracing for an uptick in crime because of the economic downturn,whether it's increased shoplifting or employee theft. "What I'm hearingis that some retailers are cutting back in opening new stores andinstead are plowing some money into security."
His research shows 77 percent of retailers with 500 or more employees use wireless networks.
"Retailers work on very thin margins, and even a small increase intheft can wipe out their profit margins completely," Schatt said.
In February, Rushing conducted a "war walk" simulation along the Magnificent Mile,ambling up the sidewalk with a laptop that had an antenna affixed tothe side. Proprietary software collected information about activewireless devices and the level of encryption for those networks.
Continue Reading at the Chicago Tribune
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