Motorola survey shows wireless devices are still at risk

Motorola today announced results of its second annual Motorola AirDefense Retail Shopping Wireless Security Survey, which shows 44 percent of the wireless devices used by retailers – such as laptops, mobile computers and barcode scanners – could be compromised. While this is a surprisingly high percentage, it is significantly lower than results from the same retail shopping survey conducted in 2007 which showed security vulnerabilities in 85 percent of wireless devices.Survey research included a review of wireless data security at more than 4,000 stores in some of the world’s busiest shopping cities including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, Paris, Seoul and Sydney.

Security vulnerabilities in wireless networks typically are the result of weak encryption, data leakage, mis-configured access points and outdated access point (AP) firmware. One of the more overlooked issues with large retailers is a “cookie-cutter” approach to wireless technology. By using the same technology, configuration, security and/or naming conventions at all retail locations, vulnerabilities repeat themselves across the entire store chain, rendering them susceptible to attacks as well as Payment Card Industry (PCI) non-compliance.

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