HACKER JACKPOTS: ATMS SPIT OUT THEIR BANKNOTES

Hackers able to make ATMs spit cash like winning slot machines are now operating inside the United States, marking the arrival of “jackpotting” attacks after widespread heists in Europe and Asia, according to the world’s largest ATM makers and security news website, Krebs on Security.

Thieves have used skimming devices on ATM machines to steal debit card information, but “jackpotting” augurs more sophisticated technological challenges that American financial firms will face in coming years.

“This is the first instance of jackpotting in the United States,” said digital security reporter Brian Krebs, a former Washington Post reporter. “It’s safe to assume that these are here to stay at this point.”

Krebs reported that criminal gangs are targeting Diebold Nixdorf ATM machines — the stand-alone kind you might see in a drive-through or pharmacy. He shared the ATM giant’s security notice. It described similar attacks in Mexico, in which criminals used a modified medical endoscope to access a port inside the machines and install malware.

Hackers have also been reported to remotely infect ATMs or completely swap out their hard drives. The Secret Service could not be immediately reached for comment about the nature of the reported U.S. attacks.

Whichever method is used, the results are about the same. At a hacker conference in 2010, Wired reported, a researcher brought two infected ATMs to the stage and gave a demonstration.

In the first example, a volunteer from the audience swiped a card through the ATM, and the researcher instantly brought up his credit card number and personal information on a computer spreadsheet.

In the second, the researcher gave the machine a command. “Jackpot!!” flashed on the ATM’s screen, and it began spitting bills onto the floor as the crowd cheered.

To read the complete article, see:
Hackers are making U.S. ATMs spit out cash like slot machines (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2018/01/27/hackers-are-making-u-s-atms-spit-out-cash-like-slot-machines-report-warns/)

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