Many Retailers Easy to Hack, Study Finds

[Curtis Baillie]

Many Retailers Easy to Hack, Study Finds
By MARK JEWELL –

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


Here's the article: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j...7GGMAD8SUCMVO0

[MetzLyov]

Very interesting post, but this is not new problem.. This existed for at least 10+ years and exposure of such problem was kept hush away from specially retailers. Banks normally will not admit nor deny with these problems, as they themselves are exposed to my bigger problems... like having their customers accounts compromised regardless what type of defense you setup...

There is no "fix all" solution that exists for this type of problems.. The company that "exposed" this problem uses it to their own advantage so that they can sell more of their "solutions"..

In order to combat against such problems, first of all, you have to know enough to do what these hackers do.. you have think like them and perform the same vicious tactics (in-house of course), so that you can understand where these security loopholes are.. Once you can establish them and provide the solution at that time, chances are very good that another loophole is at works, thus you can never relax that the last solution "fixed" this issue.

These problems do not only exist in wireless transmission of data... It also exists in so called "closed" and "secure" networks, which gives the user the false hope for their security. With some intuitive and aggressive and also persistent approach, it is possible and real that there are ways to compromise such "secure" transmission lines, regardless if they are wireless, hard wired, secure networks, secure Intranets or Internet.

So, what are the solutions besides what Cisco and other scream that are available?? Well, that is the million dollar question isn't it?

[NRM_Oz]

I was meeting with a client almost 2 years back when they had an attack on their network. Their physical security was brilliant and they had secured rooms, etc - but all it took was for a Senior Manager to run his notebook via a wireless internet connect and to then tel-net to upload items and the attacker had access to their network since the user had full network
access to enjoy. It was a penetration test by an IT security company who proved that the best networks can be brought undone by human stupidity.