Prosecutors say Albert Gonzalez, a former hacker informant who went under the handle “soupnazi,” is the most prolific identify thief in the history of the Internet and responsible for compromising more than 130 million credit card accounts. He's being charged with hacking the networks of TJX, Hannaford Brothers supermarkets, Heartland Payment Systems (credit card processors) and 7-11.

Gonzalez and his Russian cohorts face life in prison if convicted of these charges. It may also come to pass that this professional hacking crew is responsible for millions more credit card compromises; published reports place the TJX and Heartland breaches alone at 135 million compromised accounts.

What's curious about the report of Gonzalez's charges is a footnote about the vulnerability of restaurants. The Associated Press ended its report with this statement: “Restaurants are among the most common targets for hackers, experts said, because they often fail to update their antivirus software and other computer security systems.” What makes it curious is that only one restaurant, Dave and Buster's, is on Gonzalez's victims list.

Restaurant data security is a serious and often overlooked issue. Restaurants were a favored target for identity theft in the days of carbon-copied credit card receipts. Waiters would process and file the receipts, but kept the carbons for the credit card numbers and imprints. Several large restaurant chains, such as Ruby Tuesdays, have adopted mobility technologies that enable table-side credit card processing—the entire process is paperless and in front of the cardholder.

But there's other evidence to support the notion that restaurant security is lacking. The Motorola 2009 Enterprise Mobility Barometer study of hospitality technology adoption found security a low priority for restaurateurs. Only 12 percent of those surveyed said that staying up-to-date with technology is a challenge. On the list of technology initiatives for 2009, security ranked fifth behind disaster recovery and business continuity, mobility support to employees, server upgrades, and LAN/WAN upgrades.

Restaurants and hospitality businesses are learning the value and power of mobility technologies and IT automation. Table-side ordering and payment processing, online reservation systems, loyalty programs, inventory and supply chain management, and social network marketing through mobile and integrated systems will increase the efficiency of hospitality businesses. Restaurants operate on razor-thin margins, so anything that reduces costs and increases revenues is a godsend.

For now, mobility solutions and their applications are expensive and difficult to integrate, which is slowing their adoption. But the adoption curve is expected to accelerate as restaurant and hospitality businesses look for efficiency drivers and competitive differentiators. The integration factor and the local nature of most restaurants mean solution providers will be on the front lines of this emerging opportunity. With nearly 750,000 restaurants and eateries in the United States alone, mobile technology solutions will undoubtedly become a rich opportunity.

The Motorola survey shows that security is a concern, but not necessarily a priority. It's incumbent upon solution providers to not only demonstrate the business value of mobility and integrated IT systems to restaurants, but also the necessity of ensuring those systems are secure. Failing to secure mobile and other IT systems at restaurants, hospitality and retail environments will only invite the next Albert Gonzalez to mastermind the next generation of security breaches.