Credit card users at retail outlets in United States of America have been cautioned that a large number of them are vulnerable to hacking.
This was revealed after a survey by AirDefense, a company that makes security products for wireless data systems, found that the retail outlets could be hacked.
The company which undertook a secret survey found half of more than 3,000 retail stores monitored secretly use wireless data systems that are vulnerable to hacking.
It said its check of major shopping malls found many of them routinely transmit credit card numbers and Social Security numbers over systems that are easily compromised by hackers.
AirDefense says it privately notified retailers when it found major security flaws. It also says it is not disclosing the names of individual retailers to avoid drawing hackers’ attention.
