Buzz Bruggeman alerted me to a posting on the Interesting People list run by former FCC CTO Dave Farber on wireless cash registers. Although it may be old news in the wardriving circle, a post to the Security Focus list noted that Best Buy's wireless cash registers were sending customer data in the clear. MSNBC picked up the story and Best Buy shut down its wireless registers nationwide. Symbol, the maker of the enabling technology, noted in the MSNBC article that their devices have security built-in, but they can't ensure a store uses it.

3:37:28 PM    comment   

Remember to read Alan Reiter's coverage from yesterday as well: he notes that Palm's interim CEO, former 3Com exec Eric Benhamou, thinks you'll be able to get a PDA Wi-Fi adapter that has a longer battery life. You bet your boots: the CMOS development I discussed yesterday are the clear path to low-power, high-signal cards with very small form factors.

3:36:42 PM    comment   

Think you are safe from the cryptic world of wireless computer hacking? Think again. Security researchers who study wireless networks have found another embarrassing information leak, this one involving well-known retail giants. Some stores use cash registers with wireless networks that beam data [~] including credit card numbers [~] to a central computer elsewhere in the store. But a hacker can sit in a store[base ']s parking lot and [base "]listen in[per thou] to the data. Indeed, consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co. shut off wireless cash registers at its stores Wednesday after being alerted to the potential problem, saying it was investigating the issue.
2:43:07 PM    comment