Cars can be hacked, phones can be hacked, all smart devices can be hacked – so why not ATM machines? Scary isn’t it? This news from the ‘Economic times’ stole my glance and I had to blog about it right away!
Hacking and the procedure to do it required a bit of expertise in the days gone by, but that is no longer the case in today’s world. Data breaches cost millions of dollars in losses and ATM hacks are also estimated to cost around $3.5 million dollars in losses between late 2017 and early 2018 in the US (Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/01/atm-hack-attacks-caught-on-video.html)
In today’s world, we do not need thorough hacking and certified professionals to hack ATM machines to steal your credit/debit card information. It can be done by simple tools such as ATM malware cards and ATM hacking tutorials which are easily available in the “dark web” for as low as 100$. And how much time does it take to do it? Just 15 minutes!!
Sounds easy for a hacker, isn’t it?
It is…in fact… in a physical attack, if a device is implanted behind the ATM machine, the machine will give out cash without proper authentication to unauthorized individuals!! (yikes!!)
Since most ATM machines use the same software, attacking one machine will ensure that similar machines can be attacked in a similar manner. Most ATM hacks are performed on machines that run the Windows XP operating system.
How to protect yourself:
After the shocking news of how common and easy it is do ATM hacking, the next question comes about how to protect yourself from it:
ATM hacking and other attacks are always on the rise. It is imperative for us as customers to keep ahead of the curve and adopt safety practices!!
References:
This is the third post for #MyFriendAlexa. I am taking my blog to the next level with #MyFriendAlexa and #Blogchatter.