The bad news, according to experts, is that many business users either do not know about these countermeasures or have failed to use them.

"If you try to use these systems right out of the box, there's a good chance you're going to get hammered," Gartner research director Bill Clark told Wireless NewsFactor. "You run the risk of people sniffing out what's in the air on your system."

On the Rise

There have so far been no verified cases of data thefts from WLAN-enabled retail systems, but worries have risen as the technology increasingly is incorporated in store operations.

In the most high-profile instance, electronics retailer Best Buy last month reportedly suspended its use of wireless cash registers at all of its stores, while it investigates an anonymous claim -- posted to an online security forum -- that someone was able to intercept data, possibly including credit card information, that was being sent over a WLAN at one of its retail stores.

Experts say businesses large and small, especially early WLAN adopters, often deployed the networking equipment without activating the encryption and other safety features that came with it.

"People were installing it and not turning on the basic security," Meta Group senior research analyst Peter Firstbrook told Wireless NewsFactor. He added, however, many businesses are changing their tune in the current atmosphere of heightened security awareness.

A Low Point

Firstbrook said that when a company is attempting to link several compatible wireless devices from a single vendor, it is not that difficult to set up the highest level of security.

But when there are several devices from different vendors on a WLAN, companies sometimes set up "lowest common denominator" security that is designed to work well at various access points. However, such measures do not offer top protection for the system as a whole.

Gartner's Clark said there are several ways to fend off eavesdroppers, but those methods are not being deployed as diligently as they could be. One way to prevent in-store hacking is to use proprietary products from Cisco and 3Comm that are designed specifically to boost encryption protection on wireless LANs. (continued...)

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