Wee-Fi: TJX Data Theft Arrests; Junxion Sold

Eleven people connected with largest data theft operation arrested: The US Justice Department said this will be the largest prosecution, paired with the largest theft, after arresting 11 people alleged to be behind the theft of over 40m credit card numbers from TJX and others, including Barnes & Nbole, OfficeMax, and other firms. The Wi-Fi angle is that the government charges the break-ins involved some of those charged driving to stores with laptops and entering via improperly secured Wi-Fi to compromise poorly designed back-end systems. (Okay, I’m saying “improperly secured” and “poorly designed,” since that’s self-evident, and was thoroughly documented in the case of TJ Maxx’s parent TJX.) Total cost of this break in is in the billions, although it’s clear that the companies whose systems were penetrated are culpable in their lack of data security. It’s also clear that unless every card were canceled and reissued, this is the theft that keeps on taking. It’s likely the reason why my card number (but not card) was stolen back in 2005, and misused.

Sierra Wireless buys Junxion: Sierra is one of the leading makers of mobile broadband adapters, like ExpressCards and USB modems; Junxion is the leading business-focused mobile broadband bridge maker. Junxion has plenty of competitors on the low end, where products are being sold to small business or individuals, but I’m not aware of another firm whose products have the feature list for centralized IT management and deployment. They bundle the cost of this central management into the products, which can accept any kind of PC Card. Well, perhaps not any kind in the future, though Sierra Wireless is likely to have little interest in making Junxion’s box less compatible with rivals. But they’ll certainly be a lot of good synergy in developing new hardware for the same market that’s cheaper or has a different set of features. How about four adapters in one box that can bond connections together for specialized markets, like railroad Wi-Fi?

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