(MSPAlliance) - Tuesday, April 25, 2006 - Westchester County, New York enacted a new law Thursday requiring local businesses to implement IT security for wireless networks that store customers' credit card numbers and other financial information, according to the Associated Press. The law is aimed at stopping identity theft and also includes mandatory warning signs advising customers to install firewalls or other security measures to be posted in businesses that offer Internet access.
Wireless networks are traditionally more vulnerable to attacks than wired networks, and while the law will not fully protect against hackers, it could raise public awareness of the vulnerabilities of wireless IT security. The law requires businesses to install a firewall or change the default SSID if personal user information stored on a wireless network has not already been encrypted.
The penalties for non-compliance include up to a $500 fine, while installing basic firewall protection takes about an hour of an IT consultant's time. The law, which takes effect in six months, has caught the attention of other states and countries, including Great Britain, South Korea and the Czech Republic.
